I came here to comment pretty much what GrandAdmiralThrawn said. Compact Fluorescent Bulbs are not a viable alternative to the standard light bulb. The environmental impact of that much mercury will be recognized. Look it up! Do your homework! DON’T BE SHEEPLE! You HAVE been warned.
This problem with the mercury remains me of tree-hugger clean-air fiasco in California about 15 years ago. The environmentalist lobbied the state government to force the gas companies to make “oxygenated” gasoline so car engines burn cleaner so they wouldn’t pollute so much, but the side effect was the oxygenated gasoline corroded the steel tanks under the gas stations which they then started to leak, which then poisoned the ground water.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent, and still are, to provide drinking water to communities affected, as well as replacing thousands of underground tanks.
I see a similar problem with this rush for “wind power”. Does anyone know what huge tracks of windmills do to the bird and bat population? I walked through a windmill farm once and the ground was littered with bats (which do a great job of insect control when alive).
I now live on the Chesapeake and I wonder what large swaths of windmills off-shore would do to our peregrine and bald-eagle populations?
But, I guess as long as our motives are pure, it’s okay.
“Does anyone know what huge tracks of windmills do to the bird and bat population?”
Do you have any idea how many birds are killed just by tall buildings and car windshields?
Besides, you’re not actually posing the correct question which should be: how many birds will be killed turbines compared to other alternatives? I haven’t seen any numbers, but I’d guess far more birds and bats are killed by pollution from coal power plants than by wind turbines.
@... reboot..I agree to a point that LEDs aren’t cost competitive (nor as market-advanced yet) with CF bulbs, but I feel like you’re being a bit over-the-top when you not only claim they they have “a long way to go”, but do so without any sort of backup for that statement. At least post someone of authority’s opinion stating as such, please sir (ma’am?). Thanks!
There’s a big scare in Norway about large birds being killed, particularly eagles. It makes me wonder: They say it’s because large birds can’t navigate in the wind and turbines are too thin for them to be smart enough to quickly see and turn away from. Also, this seems particular to one species of Norwegian Eagle, as those results haven’t been replicated in other countries.
I really doubt wind turbines affect birds and bats any more than anything else would because they don’t actually move that fast. At least the ones they have out here, and in Portugal and Spain. The ones I’ve seen typically look like this.
There’s a certain area (near the Crowsnest pass if you want to look it up), where all the prairie winds hit the mountains in the same spot, meaning that it’s one of the only places in the world where strong wind is constant (I’ve seen it knock down semi-trucks) There’s about 10 000 gigantic turbines out there, and they fail to power the city of lethbridge (80, 000), which also relies on solar and coal.
@jascas_
Why? It’s not like you posted a link to someone of authority to back up your “10 year” claim, which I think is over-the-top.
Right now an LED light with comparable output of a CF costs about $100 compared to about $5. That seems like a pretty substantial margin, especially since CFs will also drop in cost.
Besides, even if LED lights do become affordable in ten years, it still makes sense to switch to CF rights now.
Oh, yeah, but I’m totally bummed out that if I manage to live for millions and millions of years eventually gravity will get me. bawwwwwwww *cutcutcut*
“The first ten million years were the worst, and the second ten million years, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn’t enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline.”
Sorry reboot, but you evidently buy your LED bulbs at the wrong damn place, dood. Just as a quick comparison (not a thorough low-price search), the bulbs here: www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/index.aspx are considerably less than $100 (max $30, depending on what you’re looking for). I didn’t feel the need to post backup for my claim, since what I was talking about is a presumption for the future, not something that can immediately be proven true or false.
In the off-chance you weren’t referring to the cost of the actual bulb, but were actually talking about the cost to operate the bulbs, I’ll present this article, posted just days ago, that shows that LED lights, as they are now, cost just a few percent more dollars to operate per year than CFLs: cmpaulus.com/blog/other/archive/2008/07/05/led-vs-compact-fluorescent–bulbs-go-with-cfl-for.aspx
I do agree, though, that in the immediate, switching to CF bulbs does make sense, with a need to re-evaluate when LEDs become cheaper to purchase. The aforementioned article mirrors mine and your opinion.
My 10 year number, btw, came from the presumption that a good number of people that switch bulbs now (and the 2-3 years either direction of the present) to CFL, will again be switching within a decade, since that’s when CFLs might be burning out en mass and LEDs will likely be more price-efficient. Just a guess though.
@jascas_
Just a point of order: the bulbs in your first link are directional LED bulbs. Which is ok for flashlights, reading lights, etc. but not a replacement for general lighting. The most powerful bulbs on that list are only a couple hundred lumens. An incandescent bulb is 1500-2000 lumens.
Reboot, on the Chesapeake the bald-eagle and osprey (which I meant instead of peregrin) populations are booming and yet we’ve had a very high concentration of coal, oil & nuclear power plants around here for years. Also, our fox, beaver and deer populations are going through the roof.
In western Maryland, they have deforested whole mountains to put up wind turbines that actually produce a pitiful amount of power and has decimated the bat populations, which is showing up in growing number of mosquitoes.
I think there is a place of wind turbines in a balanced energy approach, they just need to be smart where they put them.
LED bulbs will replace CF bulbs in the next few years (less than 10).
That’ll be weird man. LED bulbs have this very slightly different feeling to normal light bulbs… I don’t know how I feel about this.
jascas_ on
you mean market forces will replace the mercury filled light bulbs that the government says is best for us?
NAY I SAY. NAY!
I came here to comment pretty much what GrandAdmiralThrawn said. Compact Fluorescent Bulbs are not a viable alternative to the standard light bulb. The environmental impact of that much mercury will be recognized. Look it up! Do your homework! DON’T BE SHEEPLE! You HAVE been warned.
This problem with the mercury remains me of tree-hugger clean-air fiasco in California about 15 years ago. The environmentalist lobbied the state government to force the gas companies to make “oxygenated” gasoline so car engines burn cleaner so they wouldn’t pollute so much, but the side effect was the oxygenated gasoline corroded the steel tanks under the gas stations which they then started to leak, which then poisoned the ground water.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent, and still are, to provide drinking water to communities affected, as well as replacing thousands of underground tanks.
Tis true, young nave…tis TRUE!!!
anyone watch the video of the TX Congressman(?) making his stand on the CF bulbs? Greatness.
Market forces have nothing to do with it. LEDs have a long way to go before they are cost competitive with CF.
I see a similar problem with this rush for “wind power”. Does anyone know what huge tracks of windmills do to the bird and bat population? I walked through a windmill farm once and the ground was littered with bats (which do a great job of insect control when alive).
I now live on the Chesapeake and I wonder what large swaths of windmills off-shore would do to our peregrine and bald-eagle populations?
But, I guess as long as our motives are pure, it’s okay.
“Does anyone know what huge tracks of windmills do to the bird and bat population?”
Do you have any idea how many birds are killed just by tall buildings and car windshields?
Besides, you’re not actually posing the correct question which should be: how many birds will be killed turbines compared to other alternatives? I haven’t seen any numbers, but I’d guess far more birds and bats are killed by pollution from coal power plants than by wind turbines.
@... reboot..I agree to a point that LEDs aren’t cost competitive (nor as market-advanced yet) with CF bulbs, but I feel like you’re being a bit over-the-top when you not only claim they they have “a long way to go”, but do so without any sort of backup for that statement. At least post someone of authority’s opinion stating as such, please sir (ma’am?). Thanks!
There’s a big scare in Norway about large birds being killed, particularly eagles. It makes me wonder: They say it’s because large birds can’t navigate in the wind and turbines are too thin for them to be smart enough to quickly see and turn away from. Also, this seems particular to one species of Norwegian Eagle, as those results haven’t been replicated in other countries.
I really doubt wind turbines affect birds and bats any more than anything else would because they don’t actually move that fast. At least the ones they have out here, and in Portugal and Spain. The ones I’ve seen typically look like this.
video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2074318077350274816&q=wind+turbine&ei=7MODSLKLPIOOqwOskKybBQ
There’s a certain area (near the Crowsnest pass if you want to look it up), where all the prairie winds hit the mountains in the same spot, meaning that it’s one of the only places in the world where strong wind is constant (I’ve seen it knock down semi-trucks) There’s about 10 000 gigantic turbines out there, and they fail to power the city of lethbridge (80, 000), which also relies on solar and coal.
Doesn’t seem very effective to me, man.
The future of light is darkness, as the universe eventually succumbs to heat death. Have a nice day! 🙂
@jascas_
Why? It’s not like you posted a link to someone of authority to back up your “10 year” claim, which I think is over-the-top.
Right now an LED light with comparable output of a CF costs about $100 compared to about $5. That seems like a pretty substantial margin, especially since CFs will also drop in cost.
Besides, even if LED lights do become affordable in ten years, it still makes sense to switch to CF rights now.
Don’t be a fucking emo, chris.
Oh, yeah, but I’m totally bummed out that if I manage to live for millions and millions of years eventually gravity will get me. bawwwwwwww *cutcutcut*
glad to help, caio. you’re the tops in my book!
“The first ten million years were the worst, and the second ten million years, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn’t enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline.”
think of all the time you’ll have to listen to your cure & my chemical romance albums.
Sorry reboot, but you evidently buy your LED bulbs at the wrong damn place, dood. Just as a quick comparison (not a thorough low-price search), the bulbs here: www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/index.aspx are considerably less than $100 (max $30, depending on what you’re looking for). I didn’t feel the need to post backup for my claim, since what I was talking about is a presumption for the future, not something that can immediately be proven true or false.
In the off-chance you weren’t referring to the cost of the actual bulb, but were actually talking about the cost to operate the bulbs, I’ll present this article, posted just days ago, that shows that LED lights, as they are now, cost just a few percent more dollars to operate per year than CFLs: cmpaulus.com/blog/other/archive/2008/07/05/led-vs-compact-fluorescent–bulbs-go-with-cfl-for.aspx
I do agree, though, that in the immediate, switching to CF bulbs does make sense, with a need to re-evaluate when LEDs become cheaper to purchase. The aforementioned article mirrors mine and your opinion.
My 10 year number, btw, came from the presumption that a good number of people that switch bulbs now (and the 2-3 years either direction of the present) to CFL, will again be switching within a decade, since that’s when CFLs might be burning out en mass and LEDs will likely be more price-efficient. Just a guess though.
@jascas_
Just a point of order: the bulbs in your first link are directional LED bulbs. Which is ok for flashlights, reading lights, etc. but not a replacement for general lighting. The most powerful bulbs on that list are only a couple hundred lumens. An incandescent bulb is 1500-2000 lumens.
Very recent article I found thanks to Gizmodo that talks about the subject:
news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2008b/080717SandsLighting.html
Reboot, on the Chesapeake the bald-eagle and osprey (which I meant instead of peregrin) populations are booming and yet we’ve had a very high concentration of coal, oil & nuclear power plants around here for years. Also, our fox, beaver and deer populations are going through the roof.
In western Maryland, they have deforested whole mountains to put up wind turbines that actually produce a pitiful amount of power and has decimated the bat populations, which is showing up in growing number of mosquitoes.
I think there is a place of wind turbines in a balanced energy approach, they just need to be smart where they put them.