Thread: House turns out light on old-style bulbs

House turns out light on old-style bulbs

Republicans unable to overturn law on efficiency

The incandescent light bulb failed to earn a last-minute reprieve in the House on Tuesday, leaving the old-style bulb still facing a government-imposed death sentence when new regulations kick in at the end of this year.

Under a law Congress enacted in 2007, energy efficiency standards that go into effect in 2012 will chase the older, cheaper incandescent light bulbs from store shelves, leaving consumers to choose from more technologically advanced - but much more expensive - bulbs, such as the squiggly compact fluorescent bulbs.

Republicans, who took control of the House this year, had promised to try to overturn the law, but failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed to pass the bill Monday under expedited rules of debate.

“The party is over for the traditional incandescent light bulb,â€

The old bulbs were just a filiment inside a vaccuum and were very clean. The new bulbs have mercury and other dangerous chemicals and materials inside of them. If they break you really need to evac the house and call in a Haz Mat squad...If the old bulbs broke you just needed to sweep them up or get the vaccuum...

I prefer the less dangerous bulbs

Originally Posted by PaulRevere9

The old bulbs were just a filiment inside a vaccuum and were very clean. The new bulbs have mercury and other dangerous chemicals and materials inside of them. If they break you really need to evac the house and call in a Haz Mat squad...If the old bulbs broke you just needed to sweep them up or get the vaccuum...

I prefer the less dangerous bulbs

I agree, although I have a few places where it's hard to change bulbs or where I leave the light on most of the time and that's where these new bulbs are helpful, but if people start using them in massive quantities, there is going to be one environmental toxic disaster after another. These new bulbs weren't designed to replace the incandescent, they were designed to supplement the incandescent.

Republicans need to do whatever it takes to bring the incandescent back to the market.