You've made a great point that innovative industries create more efficient and effective products without (and usually in spite of) ham-handed governments issuing laws and regulations about that which they are uninformed, misinformed or otherwise ignorant.

This is ridiculous, since the bulbs to replace them are mercury florescence bulbs. If they gave out the same light I guess they would be okay, but they don't.

'They' will control every facet of our life as the prison grid closes in and we are enveloped in the worse scientific tyranny of history, This light bulb thing is more sinister than most know. The CLF produces 'dirty electricity' and contains mercury. Don't break one or you will have to call a hazmat team to clean the contamination up. http://www.dirtyelectricity.ca/cfl_light...

With the Eco-fascists running the government, it is not surprising that government entities will be some of the first to impose/force these “technologies” on the public. One of the major drawbacks to eliminating the incandescent bulbs and replacing them with LEDs is in aviation. OK, these are NOT household 100 watts bulbs, but several major airports have replaced the energy “inefficient – i.e. heat producing” incandescent lights used to illuminate the touchdown zone and centerline of runways designed for low visibility operations. Just like the LED traffic lights that get clogged with snow in a blizzard, runway lighting gets clogged with snow since there is no latent heat to melt it. Night ops are still OK but low visibility ops in the day time when it is snowing and blowing can make life more interesting, from a cockpit perspective. Nothing like landing in an 1/8 mile visibility in fog and snow at 150 knots looking for these stupid environment saving LED lights plugged up with packed snow and ice. The old “hot” ones worked great all the time.

...That probably isn't too far in the future. They are already contemplating legislature that would levy a tax on wind generator farms for using the wind.

oops-shouldn't have said that...
http://taxfoundation.org/blog/maryland-s...

Exactly, khaling. I’ve been that person in the store.

Maybe we could change the laws back after Obama gets out of office?

That’s coming after they figure out how to tax us for rain.

My favorite line "here are some tips to help you comply with the law..."
We still can buy incandescents in the gulch. Imagine being a criminal for bringing them into the US.
I personally go for LEDs but I understand the point about ambiant lighting.
I abhor CFLs. They take to long to get going and they make that noise sometimes and they are bulky and ugly. But good op GE makes bank. Get in bed with the govt and get them to make it a crime to not buy the product you really want to sell. And not hardly a peep from the populace.
There are people in the stores right now saying where did the cheap bulbs go?

It wouldn't be so bad if the replacements didn't cost so much. The CFLs are crud. I hate walking into a room and waiting for the light to get up to speed. The LEDs are much better but still cost prohibitive. Hopefully mass consumption and production will bring down the cost. In the mean stock up!

The article had a link to a good replacement bulb chart in PDF, that is easily saved:
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/lightbulbs/fi...

Exactly. The EPA even has guidelines about what to do if you break one in your house. you're supposed to open all the windows & doors, wear gloves, etc and so on to clean it up.. but our government is promoting these as a good alternative? Time bomb is exactly the right description! I'm slowly going to buy LED's. More cost effective, they don't take time to heat/light up and more efficient.

I am not against technology, an incandescent bulb converts 10% into light, 90% into heat (sometimes you really do want that use them in chicken coops), but, if you want to improve something, don't exchange it for something more insidious...

That’s what I thought when this law went into effect. We spent decades removing mercury from products. This is so stupid. Save the planet by poisoning the populace. Now there’s an idea that conserves voltage.

"Better to burn out than to fade away..." Neil Young
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cawk2cMTn...

The CFLs are a time bomb waiting to go off. I did some research for a Safety Fair at work, and one CFL can release enough mercury to contaminate 6,000 gallons of drinking water. They go in landfills, get crushed, and leach into the groundwater table. There are approx 240,000 bulbs a year disposed of in landfills and they are supposed to be handled separately, but when they are put in the trash, oh well. People do not realize the hazard they represent. The LED bulbs are improving each year and are a much safer way to go. Some that I have gotten are actually very nice and the light is good from them..

Yup. Thanks for reminding me. *Thumbs up*