Lawmaker fights to save incandescent bulbs

Tennessean) -- With just 16 days to go, a Tennessee lawmaker is among those trying to stop any changes to the incandescent light bulb.U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Williamson County backs a provision that would remove funding for a light bulb energy efficiency law scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The measure has been added to the proposed 2012 appropriations bill, which the House could vote on as soon as today.See Also: The changing shape of lightAdvocates say technology has marched on, and bulbs should be updated instead of lagging behind while more energy-efficient homes, cars and appliances are built.The law doesn't ban the traditional pear-shaped light bulb. It requires that any 100-watt bulbs manufactured as of the new year be at least 27 percent more efficient. The same would happen with 75-watt bulbs next year, and 60- and 40-watt bulbs the year after.The problem with traditional light bulbs is that about 90 percent of the electricity they use goes into producing heat rather than light, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Pushes to repeal the law have erupted repeatedly this year from Blackburn and others who say the change is heavy-handed government interference."Despite my best efforts, our beloved incandescent light bulbs are still scheduled to go away at the end of the year," Blackburn said in a statement a staffer provided Tuesday."I will fight until the end so that people can keep their light bulbs and we'll see what happens in the coming days. In the meantime, I am stocking up and filling my family's Christmas stockings with light bulbs. Hope my friends in Tennessee are too."Those opposing the law say they are concerned about several issues, including the higher cost of the optional compact fluorescent bulbs, called CFLs, and toxic material in them.Some people, on the other hand, have already made the shift."We love them," said Marty Shuster, owner of the Lamp Store on Bandywood Drive in Green Hills. "They give us much more light for less power input."About 700 CFLs glow in a vast assortment of lamps throughout the day there. Shuster said that for about 25 percent of the electricity, he's getting 75 percent more light than with the traditional bulbs. That saves on electricity bills, and the CFLs can last years longer.George W. Bush signed law in 2007President George W. Bush signed the bipartisan Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to help make the nation more energy-efficient and energy-independent.The law also has been praised for its potential to keep the nation's air, land and water cleaner. Most electricity comes from coal-fired power plants, which emit greenhouse gases, mercury, arsenic and tiny particles that can trigger asthma attacks and other ailments.Beginning in 2020, the law would require that most light bulbs manufactured consume60 percent to 70 percent less power than the old style.Thecurlicue CFLs that are the poster child of the change already meet that standard.They can look like the old bulbs, enclosed in a pear-shaped globe so a lampshade can clamp over them. The law exempts many specialty bulbs, from those for chandeliers and appliances to plant lights.'Big differences'Replacing a single light bulb in every home in the country with a CFL would save enough energy to light about 3 million homes for a year and keep 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gases out of the air a year, according to the EPA. That's the same amount that is emitted by about 800,000 cars."Sometimes we have to pass a law to make a difference on a mass scale," said Scott McIntosh, who is working on master's degrees in both business and sustainability at Lipscomb University."People aren't aware how little changes can make big differences."When McIntosh, a Nashville native, returned here in 2009 after serving in the U.S. Navy, he moved to the 12South neighborhood, where he replaced incandescent bulbs with CFLs as they burned out.He has seen a small reduction in his electricity bill but can't be sure what's due to CFLs. If he leaves for the weekend or longer, he unplugs equipment - such as his computer and digital videorecorder - that sucks power even when turned off. And he turns offlights when they're not needed."The cheapest light bulb, of course, is the one that's not turned on," McIntosh said.Brightness, cost, disposal are issuesEd Forbes, a meat cutter who lives in Hendersonville, has both kinds of bulbs in his home. He was going to change them all out but then stopped."They may be energy efficient, sure, but what I dislike about them when they first come on is they're very low light," he said.The bulbs take several seconds to get to full power. Also, he said, incandescent bulbs make his solar calculator work, but CFLs don't.Then there's the price tag. CFLs last longer but cost more. It's not easy for a buyer to look at the long-term savings, and it could help if the price comes down after they're in wide use, Forbes said.Disposal is an issue, too, he said.Because each CFL contains a bit of mercury the size of a ballpoint pen tip, Metro Public Works recommends dropping them off at its household hazardous waste center. If they're broken, the room should be aired out and the bits gathered with sticky tape or damp rags. They can be put in sealed plastic bags for disposal.The EPA says much more mercury is in the four-foot fluorescent tubes that have been used for decades in offices and homes. And more goes into the environment from power plant emissions to run an incandescent bulb than is in a CFL.Tony Carpenter, manager of the Light Bulb Depot, says a few customers have come in to stock up on traditional 100-watt bulbs, and his company has thousands. His staff also sells lots of CFLs of all sizes and shapes. The older bulbs can be sold until they run out.Couple happy with switchDan Feather, a Nashville graphic artist, and his wife decided when they married five years ago that they would gradually migrate to the technology.They were pleased enough to end up switching out all their lights in the first year."Overall, we've been really content living with them," Feather said. "We almost never have paid full price for them. We'll see an ad or coupon and it will say 'half price,' and we just get a bunch of them. It hasn't been a huge expense."The bit of toxic material didn't worry Feather or McIntosh."Half my mouth is filled with mercury, and I'm still around," McIntosh said.Changing light bulbsHere's a comparison of a traditional 100-watt bulb and a CFL equivalent, priced Thursday at a local Walmart.Traditional light bulbul>