Dear Joe,
Please write to your congressmen suggesting that they revisit the subject of light bulbs. The new “squirley” bulbs do not give out as much as a comporable incandescent bulb and they do not fit many fixtures. They also cost a lot more and are dangerous. My experience is that you can buy sufficient regular bulbs to last longer than the proposed new bulbs at less cost. Besides that the legislators have no business interfering with the market choices. The new low flush toilets are another example of interference in an attempt to “go green” that does not work as intended.
Love,
Dad

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A lighting expert has told a Senate committee that the federal government is endangering Americans by promoting new kinds of light bulbs to replace ordinary incandescent bulbs.

The Energy Independence and Security Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007, requires that bulbs be about 25 percent more efficient by 2014.

The act serves as a “de facto ban on traditional incandescent light bulbs,” said Howard Branston, who has overseen lighting projects including the Statue of Liberty and the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.

Testifying before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday, Branston said compact fluorescent light bulbs, the most popular alternative to incandescent bulbs, pose a risk to public health.

“The compact fluorescent lamp contains mercury,” he said. “One gram of mercury will pollute a two-acre pond. This 2007 light bulb standard brings a deadly poison into every residence in the nation.

“We do not have enough knowledge of the potential consequences of being continuously exposed to the electromagnetic field that compact fluorescent lamps emit. There are millions of people in this country with lupus, an autoimmune disease. Exposure to low doses of light from these lamps causes a severe rash.”

Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, said during the committee sessions: “Has anybody looked at the EPA recommendations put out in January 2011 about what you do if one of these mercury light bulbs breaks in your home? In Idaho, we’ve had a number of instances where they’ve had a mercury spill in a science laboratory and they immediately closed the school down.

“Can you imagine mercury bulbs throughout a school?”

Branston also warned about the use of LED (light-emitting diode) lamps, another alternative to incandescent bulbs, CNS News reported.

“The French have found that the output of these lamps is harming the vision of children,” he said. “They contain arsenic and other poisonous materials. Why aren’t we looking at that?”

He also asserted that the Energy Independence Act would cost jobs, burden businesses with the expense of updating lighting fixtures, and be an unnecessary government intrusion on Americans’ ability to choose the bulbs they want.

Sen. Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican, is promoting a bill to repeal the 2007 law and give consumers the choice to buy any light bulbs they want. His bill has the support of 26 senators — all Republicans.