THE NEW LAW
On December 18, 2007, President Bush signed The Energy Independence and Security Act (P.L. 110-140, H.R. 6) into law. A love child of the most unpopular Congress and most unpopular President in history, the new law consists largely of mandates to increase fuel efficiency of vehicles, increase energy efficiency and to develop renewable energy like bio-fuels. It is also filled with billions and billions of dollars of taxpayer funded grants and loans.
One of the most controversial components of the law is the required improvement in residential lighting energy efficiency. A well-meant intention I suppose, but at this time leaves us with the CFL as the only pseudo-affordable technology that can meet the efficiency hurdle, and the CFL is environmentally and application challenged.
If the CFL is such a great technology, why after 30 years does it require a law to "outlaw" the competition? Apparently because the free market won't. It seems the mercury containing CFL, (not domestically produced and almost exclusively made in China where environmental controls are missing and where factories are powered with dirty coal burning, mercury and carbon emitting Chinese power plants), is what we are having forced upon us.
And the new law appropriates tens of millions of dollars for a multi-year publicity campaign to convince you what a great idea this is! Unfortunately what is not in the law is funding for required recycling or awareness of mercury hazards or proper disposal.
So with the CFL "solution" we will have billions of CFL's polluting our landfills and leaking mercury back into our environment. And when a CFL breaks in the home these "safe and green" light bulbs require an EPA clean up plan consisting of 12-steps including room evacuation.
