Day By Day© by Chris Muir.

June 04, 2008

'Green' Lightbulbs Not so 'Green' After All...

As you may or may not know, Congress has mandated that starting in 2012, the light bulb that we all know and love, courtesy of Thomas Edison's brilliance, will be no more. Instead, we'll all be forced to buy fluroescent light bulbs in order to SAVE THE PLANET!!!

That's right, the same group of imbeciles who can't balance our budget is telling us what kind of light bulb we can buy. Isn't 21st century America wonderful? Our Founding Fathers would be proud.

I wonder if comic strip artists will be forced to use the new twisty bulbs in their drawings after 2012?

However, in addition to the hideous greenish light they cast off, these fluorescent bulbs come with a heavy price - and I'm not just talking about their monetary cost. The bulbs contain mercury, and if you break one, the EPA has published guidelines as to how the mess needs to be cleaned up (h/t Moonbattery):

Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

*Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid
(such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
*Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass
fragments and powder.
*If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the
area where the bulb was broken.
*Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or *vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

And that's not all...there are even more rules for washing clothing or bedding that might get that nasty mercury all over it. And, of course, how to dispose of the items you use to do the cleanup. And when the light bulb eventually does wear out and stop giving out light, how will you dispose of it? You certainly can't just toss it into the garbage can!

Isn't SAVING THE PLANET fun?

My husband mocks me for it, but I am stocking up on old-fashioned incandescent bulbs. Not only do I prefer the light they give off, but it really burns my toast to think that Congress is telling me what I can screw into my lamp sockets.

Congress...screw...there's a connection there. Can you guess what it is?