How do CFLs result in less mercury in the environment compared to traditional light
bulbs?
Electricity use is the main source of mercury emissions in the U.S. CFLs use less electricity than incandescent
lights, meaning CFLs reduce the amount of mercury into the environment. As shown in the table below, a 13-watt,
8,000-rated-hour-life CFL (60-watt equivalent; a common light bulb type) will save 376 kWh over its lifetime, thus
avoiding 4.5 mg of mercury. If the bulb goes to a landfill, overall emissions savings would drop a little, to 4.2 mg.
EPA recommends that CFLs are recycled where possible, to maximize mercury savings.
In short, while there is indeed a minimal hazard from mercury in CFLs if they are broken, there are far greater mercury emissions resultant from the use of the previously standard incandescent bulbs, largely due to the reduced amount of electrical usage.
The only thing I found alarming in the senator's speech was that "all CFLs are made in China? Is this true? Why?
The only thing I found alarming in the senator's speech was that "all CFLs are made in China? Is this true? Why?
~HAP
'Cause we don't make ANYTHING anymore. The supplysiders and pop-economists have succeeded in gutting the entire industrial capacity of the country, leaving us now beholden to whoever can make what we use everyday. A stroke of brilliance, no?
Welcome to the NEW economy, where the rest of the world supplies the goods we need, and WE supply, uh, ...
Well, George - - we do a pretty good job of making and delivering bombs. And - - it looks like we're good at starting wars too......for what it's worth.
We supposedly moved into a service economy ... but I'm not sure just what that means. We can offer banking and technology, but that gets learned fairly quickly ... China doesn't seem to respect intellectual property anyway.
It's mostly smoke and mirrors it seems, with our politicians selling us out.
I like the little CFL's, as long as you know they have mercury in them in case you break them, no big deal. I bet most of them end up in regular landfills though. And how crazy to have a law making the regular incandescent bulbs illegal.
It is a good video, and talks about more than the mercury aspect. As it is now, you aren't supposed to use the CFL's in sockets with a dimmer switch, so I suppose they will have to figure that out. I'm not sure what the law says about Christmas lights and a thousand other different types.
'Cause we don't make ANYTHING anymore. The supplysiders and pop-economists have succeeded in gutting the entire industrial capacity of the country, leaving us now beholden to whoever can make what we use everyday. A stroke of brilliance, no?
Welcome to the NEW economy, where the rest of the world supplies the goods we need, and WE supply, uh, ...
What is it that WE supply again?
One definition of a 3rd world country is to ship your raw materials overseas and in return receive finished goods. England was particularly good at exploiting its' colonies like that in the 19th century when it ruled the waves. England did all the manufacturing.
Since China, Japan and the arab world have such an over supply of US $$ to support the trade deficit, once the US market declines in consumption, and/or these countries decide to switch out of a declining US currency into Euros or whatever...
Say adios to the value of what your whole economy and what TV illusions you think the USA represents. Even today, America is being held hostage by the threat of a dollar selloff in all political negotiations with China.
That's the next war, to drive the country even further into the gutter without ever firing a shot.
The lights will then slowly go out just like when homeland security is screwing with your personal freedoms. :(
We supposedly moved into a service economy ... but I'm not sure just what that means. We can offer banking and technology, but that gets learned fairly quickly ... China doesn't seem to respect intellectual property anyway.
For some reason, a "service economy" sounds a bit like a euphemism for prostitution.
As it is now, you aren't supposed to use the CFL's in sockets with a dimmer switch, so I suppose they will have to figure that out. I'm not sure what the law says about Christmas lights and a thousand other different types.
They make some that you can, and any new Xmas lights are LEDs anyway, which are also far superior to the CFLs to begin with, but too expensive to replace standard light bulbs yet. I love my LED christmas lights though, and hope to keep them for years.
"Electricity use is the main source of mercury emissions in the U.S. CFLs use less electricity than incandescent
lights, meaning CFLs reduce the amount of mercury into the environment. As shown in the table below, a 13-watt,
8,000-rated-hour-life CFL (60-watt equivalent; a common light bulb type) will save 376 kWh over its lifetime, thus
avoiding 4.5 mg of mercury. If the bulb goes to a landfill, overall emissions savings would drop a little, to 4.2 mg.
EPA recommends that CFLs are recycled where possible, to maximize mercury savings."
Actually, electricity USE is not a source of mercury emissions at all. (What? When I turn on a switch, mercury magically appears?) Coal-fired electricity GENERATION may well be the major source of mercury emissions, due to traces of mercury in the coal. (In other countries, mercury is still used in gold mining, so that's a MAJOR local mercury emission source.) The answer, of course, is either better mercury recovery (and many technologies are now in place), or go to non-coal power sources (nuclear, wind, solar -- natural gas works, too; but that's better as a chemical raw material).
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HAPe4me
Here is what the EPA REALLY says concerning CFLs. From their website, posted June 2008:
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/prom...eet_Mercury.pdf
Here is an excerpt from that site:
How do CFLs result in less mercury in the environment compared to traditional light
bulbs?
In short, while there is indeed a minimal hazard from mercury in CFLs if they are broken, there are far greater mercury emissions resultant from the use of the previously standard incandescent bulbs, largely due to the reduced amount of electrical usage.
The only thing I found alarming in the senator's speech was that "all CFLs are made in China? Is this true? Why?
~HAP
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George Aar
'Cause we don't make ANYTHING anymore. The supplysiders and pop-economists have succeeded in gutting the entire industrial capacity of the country, leaving us now beholden to whoever can make what we use everyday. A stroke of brilliance, no?
Welcome to the NEW economy, where the rest of the world supplies the goods we need, and WE supply, uh, ...
What is it that WE supply again?
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krys
Well, George - - we do a pretty good job of making and delivering bombs. And - - it looks like we're good at starting wars too......for what it's worth.
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waysider
Well, we supply the demand.
Can't have supply without demand, or so it is said.
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rhino
We supposedly moved into a service economy ... but I'm not sure just what that means. We can offer banking and technology, but that gets learned fairly quickly ... China doesn't seem to respect intellectual property anyway.
It's mostly smoke and mirrors it seems, with our politicians selling us out.
I like the little CFL's, as long as you know they have mercury in them in case you break them, no big deal. I bet most of them end up in regular landfills though. And how crazy to have a law making the regular incandescent bulbs illegal.
It is a good video, and talks about more than the mercury aspect. As it is now, you aren't supposed to use the CFL's in sockets with a dimmer switch, so I suppose they will have to figure that out. I'm not sure what the law says about Christmas lights and a thousand other different types.
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waysider
We should all go back to using candles.
At least they were safe.
(Unless you used them too close to red drapes.)
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Bumpy
One definition of a 3rd world country is to ship your raw materials overseas and in return receive finished goods. England was particularly good at exploiting its' colonies like that in the 19th century when it ruled the waves. England did all the manufacturing.
Since China, Japan and the arab world have such an over supply of US $$ to support the trade deficit, once the US market declines in consumption, and/or these countries decide to switch out of a declining US currency into Euros or whatever...
Say adios to the value of what your whole economy and what TV illusions you think the USA represents. Even today, America is being held hostage by the threat of a dollar selloff in all political negotiations with China.
That's the next war, to drive the country even further into the gutter without ever firing a shot.
The lights will then slowly go out just like when homeland security is screwing with your personal freedoms. :(
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Mister P-Mosh
For some reason, a "service economy" sounds a bit like a euphemism for prostitution.
They make some that you can, and any new Xmas lights are LEDs anyway, which are also far superior to the CFLs to begin with, but too expensive to replace standard light bulbs yet. I love my LED christmas lights though, and hope to keep them for years.
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GeorgeStGeorge
"Electricity use is the main source of mercury emissions in the U.S. CFLs use less electricity than incandescent
lights, meaning CFLs reduce the amount of mercury into the environment. As shown in the table below, a 13-watt,
8,000-rated-hour-life CFL (60-watt equivalent; a common light bulb type) will save 376 kWh over its lifetime, thus
avoiding 4.5 mg of mercury. If the bulb goes to a landfill, overall emissions savings would drop a little, to 4.2 mg.
EPA recommends that CFLs are recycled where possible, to maximize mercury savings."
Actually, electricity USE is not a source of mercury emissions at all. (What? When I turn on a switch, mercury magically appears?) Coal-fired electricity GENERATION may well be the major source of mercury emissions, due to traces of mercury in the coal. (In other countries, mercury is still used in gold mining, so that's a MAJOR local mercury emission source.) The answer, of course, is either better mercury recovery (and many technologies are now in place), or go to non-coal power sources (nuclear, wind, solar -- natural gas works, too; but that's better as a chemical raw material).
George
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