Betty by Gary Delainey and Gerry Rasmussen for November 06, 2011

Ah, a PC correct lie. CFL bulbs burn out if you turn them on and off a lot. So the energy supposedly saved is wasted buying new bulbs.

I have CFL bulbs that are used daily and have lasted over a year. (I write a date on them when i change them). I used to replace incandescent bulbs every 3 months.

I’m two ways about it, I don’t mind the curly bulbs. My personal experience shows that they do last and I can get nice bright ones.But I detest being told what to get so I’m stocking up on Edison bulbs in protest. Take back the lamp!

I still don’t understand how a bulb with Mercury (a known poison) is a better replacement. What about LED bulbs? They don’t get hot, they save energy, and if they break you don’t have to break out the crime scene tape.

@Jkissmya: You are correct about the mercury, and this is a dilemma. It turns out that the amount of mercury in a CFL is smaller than the amount of mercury that is released into the atmosphere from the coal burning power plant that we get most of our electricity from. The difference in mercury in the CFL and the mercury released when the power plant makes the additional electricity needed for a regular light bulb to give the same amount of light is significant. Also, the mercury released from power plants settles from the air onto water and land. (It’s the major source of mercury in drinking water from Lake Michigan.) It is a lot easier to control and contain the mercury in a CFL than it is when the power plants release it into the atmosphere.

anybody notice how much gas he used driving three times to the shop mart!!!!!!!!lol

I`m not happy with the CFL`s containing mercury. Saw recent ads for LED`s. Everyone is switching over to LED`s for Christmas lights. But the eyesight isn`t what it used to be, so I want to make sure I can `see` with whatever bulb I buy.

I’d still rather spend a buck for a 60-watt incandescent, rather than $8 for the equivalent CFL. But I’m just that way.

I’ve been stocking up on the regular bulbs. First off, I don’t like the government telling me how to light my home, I don’t like the light emitted from the CFL’s or LED’s and the cost is outrageous. The mercury content doesn’t help either. My incandescents last a long time!

And why isn’t the government concerned about the cost of heating oil and gasoline? Instead of all the rhetoric about it, why don’t they do something?

You CFL-bashing people crack me up. I replaced ALL the incandescents in my apartment with CFL’s 5 years ago and I have replaced ONE (the lamp I use EVERY SINGLE DAY) and I recycled it at Home Depot FOR FREE. The cost is negligible now, CFL’s are a buck a piece at Home Depot and I noticed a big difference in electicity usage when I replaced them. The new ones power right up and are available in different types of light (soft white, sunlight, etc.) Getting the same amount of light of a 60W bulb using 13W and replacing it every 5 years instead of 6 months sounds like it’s saving me money.

We’ve got some CFLs that are over 18 years old, and still going strong.