(LS) — How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb? None. Lawyers only screw people. Light bulb jokes can be hysterical, but people aren’t laughing over the mounting controversy over light bulbs. No, you didn’t misread that last sentence, and it wasn’t a typo either. Around the world, there’s a growing debate between people who want the freedom to continue using traditional incandescent light bulbs, and those who think it’s environmentally responsible to switch over to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). However, there are strong arguments on both sides.
Incandescent light bulbs comprise roughly 25 percent of the overall electricity used in the United States today, and CFLs use only a fraction of the energy of the average incandescent bulb. European retailers began phasing the traditional bulbs out in 2009 when they stopped selling 75- and 100-watt bulbs in stores, and 60-watt bulb sales were curtailed in 2010. All incandescent bulbs will be outlawed in Europe by 2012. The United Nations called for a global incandescent light ban in December of 2010. Here in America, you can still buy incandescent bulbs, but George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act in 2007, which ends manufacture of the old bulbs in 2012 and bans them completely starting in 2014. Even the Easy-Bake Oven, which has been around since 1963, will be eschewing its pair of 100-watt light bulbs that it uses to bake chocolate cakes in favor of an as-yet unnamed heating source.
Despite the electricity and money that would be saved by widespread CFL usage, many people still oppose them due to the health problems they impose. For one, many people who work under CFL lighting complain that the flickering gives them migraines and even skin rashes. However, no medical tests have confirmed these problems. The greater medical threat posed by CFLs is the hazard they present after they’ve been used and become trash. CFLs contain mercury, which can be an immediate threat to any area where they break and could cause tremendous environmental damage if allowed to stockpile in landfills. Children and fetuses are particularly susceptible to mercury poisoning to such an extent that the Environmental Protection Agency even provides instructions to clean up broken CFLs to reduce the concern. Citing these health concerns, many lawmakers are seeking to amend the Energy Independence and Security Act.
So, what is the solution? Waste electricity with incandescent bulbs or endanger our children with CFLs? There is a possible solution: LED lights. They’ve already been used in traffic lights and alarm clocks for years and have been recently added to Christmas lights that look like dripping icicles. While far more expensive than other bulbs, LED lights are much safer, use less energy and last much longer. Some estimates think that LED lights could last a decade or even longer. The technology in LED lights is still evolving and has only recently reached the stage where enough different colors can be incorporated into the spectrum to effectively light rooms. It’s the best of both worlds, since no migraines or skin rashes occur from the soft, palatable lighting by LED, and they have no toxic components like CFLs.
Whether you start screwing in CFL bulbs or adapt your home to LED lighting, rest assured that in three years, incandescent bulbs will be about as common in houses as manual butter churns, transistor radios and rotary phones.
