At Home in Hespeler

Here in Canada when Stephen Harper and Dalton McGuinty decided to ban incandescent light bulbs and force the public to use compact fluorescent bulbs (CFB’s), there was nary a peep of complaint. Oh, a few of us bloggers stepped up with some concerns.  But few seemed to really care, and far too many concluded that a little liberty was irrelevant in the face of what was good for us.

In Britain, however, the bulbs are coming off the shelves, and it’s not going over very well:

Revolt! Robbed of their right to buy traditional light bulbs, millions are clearing shelves of last supplies.

Millions of Britons are finally waking up to the fact that their beloved light bulb will disappear for good after 120 years.

Traditional 100-watt bulbs are vanishing from the High Street because of a controversial European Union decision.

Yesterday panic buyers were snapping up the remaining bulbs in a last-ditch attempt to stockpile the final supplies. Hundreds of leading supermarkets and DIY chains – including Sainsbury’s, Asda and Homebase – have already sold their last remaining bulbs after a surge in panic buying.

In Europe they took a slightly different approach, banning incandescent bulbs incrementally, 150 Watts first, now 100 Watts. Next up, 60 Watts, &tc.

And as Michael Hanlon points out, much like I did earlier, the environmental benefits are dubious. I particularly like this part:

Then there is their lifespan, because turning them on and off dramatically shortens the working life of the electronic circuits.

If a CFL is switched on and off frequently, it will probably not last any longer than an incandescent lamp, and in any case CFLs become less bright as they age.

Tell me about it. I put some in my living room last year, and am already replacing them.  But in the EU, mercury is banned as toxic, yet they will force every home owner to fill their light sockets with… mercury. I said it last May:

The mandatory conversion to CFBs is going to be a travesty, and in ten years we will be calling them an environmental menace.

I stand by that statement, even if the Daily Mail agrees.

Note: I use the term CFB’s (compact fluorescent bulbs). some, however, including the Daily Mail, use the term CFL’s (compact fluorescent lights).

Global Warming, Going... Going... Gone Nuts For The Environment, it's not easy being green, pimply minions of bureaucracy

Humour, it's not easy being green, Stephane Dion