Case in point, those squiggly bulbs that contain mercury, are legal, the old fashioned bulbs with no mercury are soon to be illegal. Who is going to profit from this change, GE for sure, they can charge more. How safe are these new bulbs? Here are two bulbs that recently burnt out in our house. Look closely at them.
Notice that the one on the left has been burnt, also notice the black smoke residue on the bulb. Safe?? No, it's actually very scary! The other bulb has a tiny bit of smoke residue as well, so that is two for two. A clear fire hazard, but because it is supposedly eco-friendly, we have to live with them. We also have those two bulbs hanging around because of the mercury, they can't go into the landfill. How many people just toss them out with their regular garbage? Right, probably 98%.
On the municipal level, we have an uber-lefty on city counsel that wanted us to only idle our cars for 3 minutes. So, in 40 below weather, we would only be able to warm up our cars for 3 minutes then we would have to drive them. Idiot, your windshield would be frosted up! He also is proud that the only thing he did before getting elected was to set up a plan to make all university students pay for those who ride the bus. Socialism par excellence!
At the provincial level we are finally getting some response to the Alberta Bashing that Ontario and Quebec did in Copenhagen.
One of Mr. Morton's jobs will be to inform Ottawa that Alberta is unwilling to continue paying billions of dollars into the equalization program at the same time it struggles to get its own budget back into balance.
"Our contribution -- this last economic downturn, the worst year since the 1930s -- was well over $21-billion and that cannot continue and we have to have that discussion in Canada," the Premier said after unveiling his new Cabinet.
This is a smart move by Stelmach, putting Morton in charge of the budget. We will have to see how that turns out. If Morton fails, Stelmach can blame him, but I suspect that voters will just switch to the Wild Rose Alliance. We are too far away from an election to predict anything yet.
What I do know is that Alberta better fight back. Understand that no matter what we do for the environment, it will never be enough for the eco-nuts. So, stop trying to please everyone and start supporting our oilsands. Iggy supported them more the other day than our own Premier ever has, and that needs to change, or voters are going to send a message next election.
9 comments:
Well done Hunter! Thank you for doing what you do, and I agree whole heartedly.
Well said. Canadians expect clean rivers, safe drinking waters, people (companies) be held accountable for polluting.
At least AB is doing something tangible compared to Ontario and Quebec.
So far we have had Quebec demand auto companies sell cars with emissions standards that don't exist. Ontario is following the Norwegian example jacking the hydro rates to help select investors in an attempt to adopt greener electrical by installing windmills and a smart grid.
And don't forget those cities that went with new traffic lights, but discovered they didn't give off heat to melt snow and ice. Guess what, no one could see the lights, accidents resulted.
And don't forget, those lights can and have caused seizures in those suffering from epilepsy.
That's all fine maryT, but if these new eco-friendly traffic lights saves just one non-epileptic polar bear....
I cannot keep the CFL going in my house. They aren't getting anywhere near their much touted 'long life'. In fact I'm popping them steady, even moreso than I did with incandecent bulbs.
I think once LED technology advances a little more we'll see more viable alternative to incandecent lightbulbs and CFL's.
The most notable thing about the CFL bulbs is you can't SEE to read with them! many people I know are going to Costco and buying cases of regular light bulbs. They should be okay until the government assigns light bulb inspectors to search every house and office in the Country.
Good post, anti-pollution has been hijacked by a tax and tax scheme.
DMorris
Hunter, those CFLs in the picture are counterfeit. They are NOT UL or CSA approved. STOP USING THEM. Buy the good ones, not the cheap fakes. I googled "Y728 bulbs" to find this.
Meanwhile, the LED traffic lights are up to four times brighter than incandescents and can be seen in bright sunlight as well as foggy conditions. Even more importantly, they last up to ten times longer than incandescents, so the danger of a burnout is greatly reduced. This tragedy might not have happened if they had had longer lasting bulbs.
As for the snow problem, good old Yankee ingenuity comes to the rescue in Denver!
All fluorescents contain mercury, but most fluorescents are used in commercial applications, stores and offices, where there is usually someone who replaces them and knows how to dispose of them properly. All fluorescents produce UV light in the tube, and it is only the coating on the tube lighting up (fluorescing) that saves you from being blinded. Clear ones are used in water purifiers. They are one product that has to be made correctly, and handled correctly when installing and replacing. Plus I find the light from the compacts to be very harsh, so I won't use them.
As Eskimo says, the LEDs are the way to go. GE was working on high efficiency incandescents to meet the coming efficiency standards, but has abandoned that effort to concentrate on the LEDs.
LS, one bulb is a Globe, but the other one is Sylvania, and it also has burn marks on it. So, maybe it's the technology, not the maker!
I hate to go against the grain but I've been using CFLs at home for years. The four originals I bought 10 years ago are still going strong - they are the straight line ones and I paid about $15 for each of them. My garage light (outside) is on a photocell and I was replacing the nice-effect clear bulbs for the coach style lamp every 3 months. I replace my CFL every 2 years. I have CFLs in all lamps and fixtures except for a couple of lamps which take those little incandescents with the small base. I like them because they don't produce heat and they take a lot less hydro.
I like LCDs but won't use them until they start selling the 'warm' version. I don't like that blue-white light at all.
I buy only high-quality CFLs - usually GE. They're all made in China, it seems but there are varying degrees of specs to which the manufacturers have to adhere.
McGuinty's desire to ban incandescents is more of his smoke and mirrors - the guy is a foolish dictator.
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