House GOP still in the dark about CFL bulbs

House GOP failed to block the energy saving standards for light bulbs, even with their complaint that the government is trying to control what light bulbs we have to buy.

This energy saving bill to encourage consumers to change their incandescent light bulbs was signed into law by George W. Bush in 2007 along with Republican participation. But it wasn’t a big contentious issue until now.

GOP was trying to push the “Big Government” as a reason to block this law but what it failed to understand was that the new bulbs need to be at least 30% more energy efficient, not that they have to be CFL bulbs or LED bulbs to comply. In fact, if anyone is so attached to the old incandescent types, they can still buy those too because the newer incandescent bulbs are more energy efficient compared to the old types – similar to the ones that Thomas Edison invented in 1879. And, as of Jan. 1, 2012, inefficient 100-watt bulbs will no longer be available at most stores. Also on the way out are traditional 75-watt bulbs in 2013 and 40-watt and 60-watt versions in 2014.

The National Resources Defense Council said that when the law is fully implemented in 2020, energy costs will be reduced by 7 percent for each household, a savings of more than $85 a year, resulting in more than 6 billion dollars in savings by 2015.

So while GOP might view this as the “Big Government” interfering with freedom, it’s about saving energy. It’s about saving money. It’s about government educating the public about energy and promoting technology advancement for the future.

Man went to the moon and came back repeatedly. Why are we still using the similar light bulbs that were invented 132 years ago?

{Photo} ecokaren – How to dispose of CFL light bulbs.

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Tags: CFL Bulbs, CFLS

About the Author

Karen Lee Karen lives a simple, frugal, green life and shares her eco tips and news on ecokaren and is a co-founder of Green Sisterhood, a network of community of green women bloggers, making change. When she's not managing Green Sisterhood or blogging on ecokaren, she is a chauffeur to two greenagers, wife to an accidental recycler, master chef to hungry locavores, seamstress, knitter, and dumpster diver, not necessarily in that order.