When I first read the below article I thought it was a joke, but then suddenly realized it was the truth. The truth is that many in powerful positions think we are dumb and must be helped in our everyday decisions and such complex things as purchasing a light bulb must be made by those who are far intellectually superior to us common ignorant fools. Yes, my fellow dumb Americans your days of having to decide what light bulb to buy are coming to an end and those with much greater knowledge of this complex problem have solved this mind boggling dilemma for us. So relax and be thankful and expect such frightful decisions as what to buy at the grocery store soon to be solved by those great thinkers in Washington.I did the math on the below article and came up with these numbers: First Energy Corp which has 4.5 million customers in Ohio,PA and NJ would realize a profit of $63,000,000 over a three year period on the forced sale of these new light bulbs. Would anyone be willing to bet that these new bulbs are not coming from GE. I suspect all utility companies nation wide will follow suit.
Plain Dealer Columnist
There was a time when you and I could be trusted to change a light bulb.
In those days, powerful people who made weighty decisions understood that if a light bulb burned out, even the dimmest of us common folk would know enough to remove it from its socket, choose a suitable replacement and install it.
Apparently all of the weighty decisions have been made, because powerful people have now worked their way down to telling us what kind of light bulb we will use -- and even bringing some to us, apparently fearing that even the brightest of us common folk might botch the job.
How is it that an act whose very simplicity spawned a genre of humor, based mostly on ethnic, sexist and sectarian slurs -- "How many (insert your favorite target for tactless, insensitive, mean-spirited, stereotypical humor here) does it take to screw in a light bulb?" -- has suddenly become a complicated, labor-intensive, expensive, public endeavor?
The old jokes have given way to a new one, with a reworked setup for the punch line:
"How many public officials and utility big-wigs does it take to -- well, you know -- every FirstEnergy Corp. customer?"
In just a few days, people dressed in green T-shirts and green caps will begin the rather enormous task of delivering two 23-watt, warm-white, compact fluorescent light bulbs to every residence FirstEnergy serves.
They won't ask whether you want them. They'll just leave them on your doorstep, in a bag that will also contain a brochure called "More Than 100 Ways to Improve Your Electric Bill."
They won't ask for payment, though. As you might expect with an electric utility, that's already wired.
These whiz-bang new light bulbs -- which cost FirstEnergy $3.50 each, and which you could buy all by yourself at any number of stores for even less if you were still trusted to do that sort of thing -- will cost you $21.60 for the pair. You'll pay it off over the next three years, at 60 cents a month added to your electric bill.... source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
12 comments:
The worst part of this is that it was George Bush that signed the legislation banning incandescent bulbs.
I don't have a problem with using the new kind of light bulb and have found that they do last much longer than incandescent bulbs. I do have a problem with someone with a lot of spare time on their hands telling me that I have to use them and with how they are going about recouping the cost of the new bulbs.
Is this how the new "green economy" is going to work? If so, it don't look good from my perspective.
Like you say Larry, being forced to buy them is a problem and at a higher cost as reported in this story.
They last a LOT longer, they don't put off heat and they use less energy, proven fact... BUT...
Don't tell me I have to do it...
I went and got my H1N1 vaccination today, not because the government said I had to but because I am in that HIGH RISK group and 2 friends of mine that happen to be doctors said it was the prudent thing to do...
But if I was being pressured, I would never have done it...
When I first read the title of your post, my answer was "YES". Have you actually gone to Wal-Mart or somewhere that no longer carries the old light bulbs? It took me forever to figure out which bulbs I needed, they no longer have 15 watt, 25 watt, 50 watt, 75, 100, 150. Wal-Mart finally put up a display with the new bulbs telling what they were compared to the old bulbs.
I wasn't the only one in the store having problems.
It is wrong to force us to use these bulbs. I don't like them.
Every try using one in a ceiling fixture? They don't work worth crap upside down. Might as well walk around in the dark.
Deborah F. Hamilton
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com
One of the first things I noticed about the bulbs is that they seem very dim when first turned on. I thought there was something wrong with them. They get brighter after burning for a while. That may be one reason they use less energy and last longer.
I think they are rather neat little bulbs, and I also believe they use less energy as they put out less light. However, I'm still not sold on them being more environmentally friendly than the old bulbs---the mercury factor and the production factors. The most disturbing thing however is people being forced to purchase them via their utility company---this is not the american way. What will be mandated tomorrow and the next day, our freedoms are slipping away and most just set back and say little or nothing. Maybe the family pet will be the next time to go the way of the old light bulb--far fetched, studies are already being done by the great minds who are experts on such things. Experts appointed by politicians with an agenda.
Man, it took me long enough to get everyone added to the blogroll at the new place, but it's just about done. I appreciate your patience.
I can appreciate that!
This is nuts. To force people to do something like that, especially for the astronomical cost.
I'm stocking up on incandescents. I have some fixtures that the new ones will not work in. That, and I use appliance bulbs in my outside light fixtures. They last a long time in the cold.
I don't know why George Bush signed in this leislation. This is utterly ridiculous. I don't think that any of our elected officials are smart enough to change a lightbulb.
Same story out here mate, the bastards have decided the old ones must be taken away and these new crappy ones must be installed, or else!
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