Think about the downsides of fluorescent bulbs. They do contain mercury, which we all know is hazardous. They should be treated like any other household hazardous waste. Aside from that, they pay for themselves, but you don’t get quite the same lighting.

For autos, it may not really be an energy or money saver. Remember that hybrids contain large batteries that must be replaced over time and are very expensive. The manufacture of these batteries isn’t exactly environmentally friendly, so you may not be as green as you think. Better option, get rid of your hybrid minivan and buy a compact.

Really, you don’t need to take drastic measures to save energy. Don’t take Gore’s approach (carbon credits are for morons). Downsize and simpify. Use less. Waste less. If you have a relatively new appliance, why replace it at this time? The same goes for light bulbs, cars, etc… Replace with an energy efficient equivalent once you’ve used your existing item to the end of it’s lifespan.

I heard the Democrats are going to force us to start using those stupid mercury bulbs that have no place to recycle. If they do this, I will throw them out of my car window. I’m sick of their nanny crap.

Pay more for energy efficiency? Huh? You buy things which are truly efficient, and you pay LESS. After the $500 Grandma’s Galaxie 500 (my first car) with a 289 V8, I’ve never had a gas hog car. Even my truck (a 4-banger 1990 Ford Ranger) got 27-33 mpg average. I’ve always had the base model, 4 cylinder, stick shift, no accessories except A/C and gotten excellent mileage at a cheap price. Went back to a car a few years ago, because you couldn’t touch the Ranger’s mpg with any new truck.
I grew up in a house where we had fluorescent tubes in all the rooms, including bedrooms, and all the lamps which would take them (a few antiques still don’t, because they have clip on lampshades). I was so GLAD when the compacts came out, because the light isn’t as irritating as the tube fluorescents.
Energy efficiency? Do what your mom said, and turn off the light, TV, radio, computer when you leave the room for more than 5 minutes. Keep your furnace set at 67-68 during the day in the winter and 78 in summer. Turn the thermostat to 64-65 at night when you are in bed or leave the house for several hours. Wear sweaters. Use rechargeable batteries. Buy durable, quality goods, not cheap throw-aways. Fix it until it is unfixable any more. Buy a preowned home, not new construction. Use windows, not HVAC.

And most of all– you want to save energy and the planet? Don’t have kids, or if you feel you must, limit yourself to 2. That saves money, energy and resources for now and tomorrow.

You don’t have to pay more to be more efficient if you believe in cost amortization.

Straight from engineering life cycle analysis:

It’s not just the bulb replacement cost, it’s the cost to run them. Lets use the following figures, 100W incandescent light bulb, 750hr life, cost $.30 and say Ameren charges $.09/kwh for power. A 100W replacement compact fluorescent uses 25W, has an 8000hr lifespan and costs $3.50

Direct replacement cost: Since it takes so many more incandescent bulbs to last 8000hrs, the final cost is $3.20 vs. $3.00. Not much savings until you figure the energy to run them those 8000hrs. It would cost $72 in electricity for the incandescent, $18 for the compact florescent. Total lifetime savings :$54.20.

I use compact fluorescents everywhere I can (they are unsuitable in some places, like the bathroom) and my utility bill is the lowest of all my neighbors.

On the fuel efficient car scenario: Detroit is saying the same things they were saying in the ’70’s. “Big cars mean big profits, small cars mean small profits.”

In 1980 I bought a new car. It seated 4, had a curb weight of around 2500 lbs, a 4 cylinder engine and an automatic, and got around 27 mpg. Today, I drive a 2003 model car, about the same physical size. It has a 6 cylinder engine, automatic, and similar accessories and gets, guess what, about 27 mpg. It IS more efficient–getting rid of carburetors and manual tuning and going to higher compression, fuel injection, and computerized control has created an efficiency gain that is going to increased vehicle weight instead of lowering fuel use. I’d argue that Detroit could apply those efficiency gains to a 2 liter 4 cylinder with a 5 speed manual in a “grand am” sized car and immediately get 35-40 mpg. But they don’t want to because the profit margin would be lower.

Who NEEDS an Escalade/Expedition in town?????

Detroit is a dinosaur because they have fought CAFE standards. It’s like they don’t even remember the 1970’s. And such corporate amnesia is scary considering the amount of jobs that are dependent on this industry. Raise CAFE standards, and raise them each few years until we have cars that are no longer dependent of fossil fuels.

That said, would I be willing to pay more? Teresa has it right, the investment usually pays off. Often their are tax subsidies for larger purchases. We can pay a little more now or we can pay a lot more later. I choose the former.

If you visit “Earth Day” celebrations at Grandel Square each year, you can purchase an energy efficient bulb for 99 cents! This makes Anonaman’s cited savings even better!

I use the bulbs exclusively except where I have dimmers installed. They don’t work with dimmers.

I use 100 w. equivalents wherever I would have used a 60 w. conventional bulb. I have found the light levels to be more than acceptable.

#5…WHO NEEDS AN ESCALADE/NAVIGATOR???? Your rich, fancy, more-important-than-you-are neighbors…that’s who? Didn’t you know that VIP’s need big fancy cars and that the rest of we common folk should get out of their way on the road and at the mall?

Seriously though, I think it’s worth the extra cost up front, provided that we save money and energy in the long run. I’ve replace all the standard light bulbs in my house and the candelabra bulbs in my porch and garage coach lights with fluorescent ones. They are certainly brighter and use less energy, despite costing more initially.

The only drawback so far is that they take a minute to warm up to full power and brightness, so they aren’t good in places like closets and the pantry, where you flick the light on just long enough to grab something and go.

As far as paying more for a hybrid car, I’m not sure how long the batteries last, and am waiting to see if that’s a good deal or not. If I can keep the car 10 years like my gasoline engine cars, I’ll buy one in 2 years, when I replace my 2000 Honda.

Carol,

What’s with the temper tantrum? You going to lay on the floor, kicking your feet, all while holding your breath and turning blue?

Seriously, if a new technology saves energy consumption, saves you money and eases environmental pollution of green house gases, WHY NOT? What is your arguement against reducing energy consumtion, saving money and polluting less?

I’m all for saving money on energy but I doubt my 800 square foot house is hardly the energy hog most of the McMansions are. I cut back where it’s reasonable to do so but I don’t go overboard.

BTW, have you actually compared the light from these flourescent lights to an incandesent or halogen? I don’t see how anyone can say it’s a brighter, whiter, or better light. If you do, you are fooling yourselves. It’s a terrible light and I choose not to use them for that reason. I don’t want the govt mandating I use them either.

As far a lighting is concerned, I believe LED lighting will be leading us into the future. It’s bright, cost efficient, comes in many colors and lasts forever.