Thats your Headline? Phase out light bulbs? His speech was by far the boldest and most far reaching energy policy speech by a political canidate ever and all you can come up with is, Phase out lightbulbs as a headline?

People have to go to college to get a degree to get a job like yours?

What in the world is Hillary concerned about how she looks to herself in the glow of a florescent light? Bravo to Obama's "enlightened" energy policy.

Obama is fairly forgettable. He just tells people what they NEED to hear. Phasing out lightbulbs? DUH. Walmart is being sued in court for allegedly conspiring to bring this about, think of something new, Obama. This guy talks too much, every day he tries to make headlines, take a day off.

Europe drives stick-shift very efficient deisel cars and trucks. Are Europeans stupid or are they serious about the planet?

Light bulbs - pleeeeessssseeee! I wonder if Obama heard about it from Australia.

Lets get real and discuss the fact that Americans MUST reduce their energy consumption to 1/5th current levels of energy gluttony.

This is yet one more dreary example of how stupid Americans have become after decades of government unionized schooling. That anyone could utter such garbage in a national election is simply appalling.

If Americans cannot decide for themsleves what kind of light bulbs they need, then whats the point of having an election - they're obvioulsy too stupid to vote.

Little issue sidestepped by the smiling GE "good for the environment" soundbite? Fluorescent bulbs currently contain a highly toxic amount of mercury inside them. Break the bulb, risk birth defects and behavioral disorders? here's what the EPA says to do in case one of these bulbs breaks:

When a bulb breaks

Open a window and leave the room for at least 15 minutes.

This is to prevent you from breathing any mercury particles that may have wafted into the air.

Carefully scoop up the fragments and place them in a sealed plastic bag.

Use disposable rubber gloves, and wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipes and place into a plastic bag. Do not use a vacuum cleaner or broom on hard surfaces, like tile or hardwood floors, because this could kick up mercury particles into the air.

Place the cleaned-up materials in a second sealed bag.

After putting the first bag into a second sealed bag before putting it in the recycle bin, wash your hands thoroughly.

What to do if the bulb breaks on a rug or carpet.

First, try to remove all the glass shards and fragments you can without using a vacuum cleaner. For example, try using duct tape to pick up small pieces in the carpet. If after doing this vacuuming is still needed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken. Then remove the vacuum bag and put the bag and any other vacuum debris in two sealed plastic bags.
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And after all of that, you STILL can't just throw them away. If landfills start to take on millions of old Fluorescent bulbs, that mercury will leech into the ground and potentially poison local groundwater.

Basically, I think we'd all just better wait for the wonders of White LEDs to hit the market.

Never mind the fact that the newer lights cost more at a time when people are having a hard time making ends meet. PC has to take a backseat to that financial reality.

Well, I feel safer already! Boy, he's really on his way to saving keeping the country from being attacked again with THAT strategy! I'll sleep better tonight.

You don't really see the connection do you? Well, let me put that lightbulb over your head for you. We reduce our dependency on oil by reducing our need for power. We reduce our need for power we reduce our need to be screwing with the Middle East. We reduce our need to screw with the Middle East the terrorists reduce their need to attack us in the continental U.S.

See, so what Obama is saying, if you would turn the lights on so it would look like someone was home, would go a long way to protecting the country so you can sleep better. It sounds like you've bought into what the fear peddlers in the White House are selling, so I bet you sleep with the lights on. Better change them to the curly ones...

I think you need to be aware that most power generatoring companies do not use oil, which is largely for transportation fuel and chemicals. Instead, they use coal or gas. Both of which we have an abundance. So, reducing electricity consumption isn't really going to impact that much on our dependence of middle east oil. Someone's post about the mercury in the fluorescent bulb is true. There has to be a certain minimum amount of mercury metal vapor to make these things work. Also, the fluorescent white material is made from a material that is derived from petroleum - terephthaldehyde. If you keep the incandescent bulb, you don't have the problems I cited above. So, was Obama's message really well thought out or was to to win political points and to count on igorances of the masses? My question was a rhetorical one. :-)

Oops! I forgot to finish my point. The mercury vapor is an environmental hazard, and the fluorescent material is not readily biodegradable. Is this what we really want in order to be environmentally considering? I really don't think so.

He voted against the constitution? What the hell are you talking about tumbleweed? in regards to the incandescent vs, flourescent argument the EPA said "the mercury released from powering an incandescent lamp for five years exceeds the total of (a) the mercury released by powering a comparably luminous CFL for the same period and (b) the mercury contained in the lamp.

Some manufacturers such as Philips and GE make very low-mercury content CFLs. This year, Philips claimed its Master TL-D Alto range to have the lowest mercury content of any CFL on the market, at 2mg." -

I've tried the efficiency bulbs. My wife and I could not stand the light after 30 seconds.
Besides, once everyone was switched over, they would just raise the electric rate and give you less for the same cost.

You couldn't pay me to buy another incandescent lightbulb. I've replaced all of mine with flourescent, and they last forever! Hillary needs to do a little research - they're not all fright-white anymore.

Obama's speech was about reducing enegry consumption.

At some point American switched from Leaded to Unleaded. Analog to Digital. We will get used to it and change is good.

OBAMA '08!

Clinton in a swimsuit??? Maybe Chelsea.

Why? BECAUSE IT DESERVED ANOTHER POSTING....

Thats your Headline? Phase out light bulbs? His speech was by far the boldest and most far reaching energy policy speech by a political canidate ever and all you can come up with is, Phase out lightbulbs as a headline?

People have to go to college to get a degree to get a job like yours?

Posted by: Momo | Oct 8, 2007 4:34:45 PM

THIS IS TANTAMOUNT TO A SMEAR CAMPAIGN WHEN YOU REDUCE HARD WORK, LEADERSHIP AND GENIUS TO FLUFF STORY. AMERICA NEEDS AND WANTS BARACK OBAMA IN OFFICE!

I can't believe you aren't reporting the full substance of Obama's full proposal. It is a serious change of direction for this country based on economic and national security considerations. And for Hillary to make a joke about it only goes to show who truly has the leadership qualities this country needs.

I'm waiting for white LEDs to show up in stores too. I heard that they're going to start using them in street lights because even if they are expensive, they last so long they're more than worth it. I've been using CFLs for several years now and have yet to have one go out. I'm used to incandescents going out ever few years so it's pretty nice. Will be great if LED last even longer.

I haven't read the full text of his speech yet, but I will. What he is saying about the light bulb is very sensible fact. The U.K. has proposed a ban on the incandescent bulb, as has Australia and Germany. California, Connecticut, and New Jersey have proposed legislation to switch to florescent. I switched my main lighting to florescent almost five years ago, haven't had to replace one yet. Plus my electric bill went down which I attribute to using less power as well as producing less heat, therefore my ac doesn't run as much as it once did. I just quickly scanned his speech to see if he touched on ethanol production, and he did. I was disappointed however that he didn't mention ALGAE biodiesel. While ethanol certainly has a lot of merit, it also has a large number of drawbacks, two of which are being produced from food staples such as corn or soybean, and the number of arable acres of land necessary to produce it in great quantities. The new, well actually it's not new, but it is the answer to our fuel problem, is ALGAE biodiesel. The simple little plant ALGAE will produce 100,000 gallons/acre/yr. of fuel, compared to 50 gallons/acre/yr. of soybean or 29/gallons/acre/yr. of corn. The great thing about algae is the fact that it will grow almost anywhere, and it has been calculated that the entire amount of transportation and home heating fuel used in the U.S. today could be entirely replaced by ALGAE biofuel, grown on only 12.5% of the Sonora desert. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory experimented with algae for fuel between 1978 and 1996, but, because of newly discovered fossil fuel deposits such as in Alaska, and with the new abundance and lower cost the algae program was phased out. It has been revived in recent years. In fact in today's Houston Chronicle there is a front page article titled "Could West Texas algae curb oil dependence?" Another good website to read more about algae biodiesel is the University of New Hampshire - I got wind of this back in the 70's while in school at KU, and thought it sounded like a pretty darned good idea, and turns out now that it is. Oh, let me ad, TUMBLEWEEDIN, it's people like you that makes me wish there was an intelligence test required in order to vote. Try going to senate.gov, then click on whatever legislator you wish, including Mr. Obama, and then tell us just what the "y" MEANS IN THE VOTE COLUMN.

I forgot to ad one other item for TUMBLEWEEDIN: If Barack Had voted NO on every issue involving the Constitution, that would be a Constitutional Amendment, the last of which was Amendment 27 regarding Congressional compensation, which was RATIFIED IN 1992. I don't think Barack was able to vote in the Senate in 1992. duh!

Obama might be the stupidest person to ever run for President that actually got any attention. With every breath he makes himself less electable and gives the wench Hiliary a chance to be the Democrat rep.

We've put the low energy bulbs where we can - but we also have several light fixtures that use the decorative bulbs- and I'm not about to put those ugly low energy bulbs in those.

tumbleweedin: If Obama voted to make English the official language, then he would've been voting AGAINST the constitution...

Obama is an Idiot!!! He only speaks to hear his own voice.

Apparently, Obama has not done his homework. The energy savings are more than offset by damage to interiors from the UV in the bulbs, over time, along with the fact that the bulbs contain mercury, and must be disposed of as hazardous waste, when exhausted.

Thanks, but no thanks, I will stay with regular tungsten household bulbs for now.

Barak Obama's head must be full of lapel-pins and light bulbs to bring this up on the stump.

To determine how Mr. Obama is doing in the race, go by actual facts, not polls.

Political polls this year are quite unreliable indicators -- especially in regard to Mr. Obama's success.

The truth is that Mr. Obama is running a record setting campaign. He is making history.

-- He has raised more money to date than any other candidate for President has ever done.

-- He has the most organized and invloved grassroots campaign going.

-- He is drawing more people to his rallys than any other candidate, probably in history.

-- He has the broadest voter support than any other candidate in the race. He has Independents, Republicans, Democrats, and people of all races and ages planning to vote for him in their primaries.

So you can't go by those unreliable polls being done, you have got to go by the actual facts to see who is actually winning this race. Based on the facts -- Barack Obama is winning.

I hope more people will go by facts ather then the terrible election reporing of the main stream media -- they are clearly biased against Mr. Obama at this point, and that is very sad. But that won't stop Mr. Obama from winning the nomination next year.

Obama '08

Many people (like myself) who get migranes would not be able to use fluorescent bulbs in their homes. The light from these bulds can trigger the migranes.