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Energy Secretary Steven Chu defends light bulb standards as GOP seeks repeal

UtahBill said:
in sufficient concentrations and ingested into the body, yes. otherwise, no...mercury is not dangerous.
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That acknowledges I suppose that they are more dangerous than standard bulbs. Asbestos brakes are not dangerous either as long as you aren't beathing in the dust.
 
Catawba said:
Because the unregulated market puts short term profits ahead of whats best for future generations that will depend on the environment to sustain itself.
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The government is trillions of dollars in debt, will not stop spending, and you feel they are concerned about "future generations"??? That does not compute!

And you want the government to decide what's best for the marketplace rather than the American consumer??

And what "unregulated market"? There are so many regulations that a start up business now is almost impossible, and only friends of the government with their crony capitalism, like Solyndra, GM, and many others, can make a go of it.

No wonder businesses are moving out of the States with this craziness going on.
 
UtahBill said:
Link?
Canada doesn't have the same strict emissions requirements for cars as the USA, do they not care for their citizens?
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Canada is a more serious country at this point, which is why we aren't have an ongoing debate about which light bulbs the government will allow us to use.

Right now the American government can make decisions on light bulbs, and too many Americans buy into their BS, but can't properly explore for oil or build a pipeline.

The decline of the American people and its government is becoming self evident..
 
Grant said:
The government is trillions of dollars in debt, will not stop spending, and you feel they are concerned about "future generations"??? That does not compute!
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Sorry Grant, but your comment does not compute.

This is a red herring argument meant to paint the government as incompetent. While I won't disagree with you on that point, equating government debt to light bulb regulations is ridiculous.
 
1Perry said:
How long does a candle last you now? Has technological improvements helped them to last longer than they used to?
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I don't know but candles made from vegetable oils last longer than ones made from paraffin.
 
UtahBill said:
in sufficient concentrations and ingested into the body, yes. otherwise, no...mercury is not dangerous.
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When we were kids, not knowing better, we used to roll the mercury around in our hands from a broken thermometer, with no ill effects. Glad we didn't try eating it!
 
Grant said:
The government is trillions of dollars in debt, will not stop spending, and you feel they are concerned about "future generations"??? That does not compute!
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Obviously, it requires the ability to understand science and sustainability.


And you want the government to decide what's best for the marketplace rather than the American consumer??
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Yes, because without government intervention, we would still have rivers that catch fire and bigger holes in the ozone layer.

And what "unregulated market"? There are so many regulations that a start up business now is almost impossible, and only friends of the government with their crony capitalism, like Solyndra, GM, and many others, can make a go of it.
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There are no charges of wrong doing that have been proven in Solyndra, and we have bailed out car companies many times in our history.

No wonder businesses are moving out of the States with this craziness going on.
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Business are moving out of the country because of the tax breaks we provide them to do so, and the lower wages they pay for labor.
 
satnightpoly said:
Sorry Grant, but your comment does not compute.

This is a red herring argument meant to paint the government as incompetent. While I won't disagree with you on that point, equating government debt to light bulb regulations is ridiculous.
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It's absolutely germane to what you are saying.

You're suggesting that this present government cares for "future generations", your words, when they are going to be stuck with trillions of dollars in debt and unsustainable obligations.. It could be argued that this is the first American generation to sell out the future of their children, and I won't even bother raising the abortion issue.

Light bulbs?? Could there be a less serious debate?

What's happened to those great American people?
 
Grant said:
It's absolutely germane to what you are saying.

You're suggesting that this present government cares for "future generations", your words, when they are going to be stuck with trillions of dollars in debt and unsustainable obligations.. It could be argued that this is the first American generation to sell out the future of their children, and I won't even bother raising the abortion issue.

Light bulbs?? Could there be a less serious debate?

What's happened to those great American people?
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You'll note, the ban has been rescinded.
 
Catawba said:
Obviously, it requires the ability to understand science and sustainability.
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No, it doesn't.
Yes, because without government intervention, we would still have rivers that catch fire and bigger holes in the ozone layer.
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Right, And more global warming as well. Only big government can sane humanity from itself. We're all familiar with the mantra.


There are no charges of wrong doing that have been proven in Solyndra, and we have bailed out car companies many times in our history.
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Since when was bailing out car companies or any corporations, part of the American Dream"? Though I'm aware of Ronald Reagan, who should have known better, bailing oot Chrysler once before, any automobile manufacturers have gone to that great highway in the sky with no effect whatsoever on the American consumer.
Business are moving out of the country because of the tax breaks we provide them to do so, and the lower wages they pay for labor.
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Really? Have you goiven this much thought?

Other countries have always paid lower wages than American companies yet the United States was still number one in the world for generations. Now they can't compete anymore? Doesn't that sound a little fishy too you?
 
1Perry said:
You'll note, the ban has been rescinded.
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Yet the Department of Energy, which doesn't produce any energy whatsoever, feels they can tell the American consumer which light bulbs they can use. Many f=ind that acceptable and the debate rages on for 66 pages on these boards.
 
Grant said:
Yet the Department of Energy, which doesn't produce any energy whatsoever, feels they can tell the American consumer which light bulbs they can use. Many f=ind that acceptable and the debate rages on for 66 pages on these boards.
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Funny aint it? Some believe that the government should tell people what to wear each day and what means are acceptable to get to work each day. Whatever.
 
1Perry said:
Funny aint it? Some believe that the government should tell people what to wear each day and what means are acceptable to get to work each day. Whatever.
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And whether they can grow vegetables in their front yard, serve free coffee to their regular customers or whether a little girl can sell lemonade from her front yard. Some people like all these regulations, but the America that was will be just a memory for those who knew it when.
 
Grant said:
And whether they can grow vegetables in their front yard, serve free coffee to their regular customers or whether a little girl can sell lemonade from her front yard. Some people like all these regulations, but the America that was will be just a memory for those who knew it when.
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All of these thigs can still be freely done in the vast majority of the country. I can pick examples in Canada also but I really have no axe to grind here.
 
1Perry said:
All of these thigs can still be freely done in the vast majority of the country. I can pick examples in Canada also but I really have no axe to grind here.
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Of course we have the same problems of bureaucracies having too much power, as does every country, but we should fight back whenever we can and not support the buggers. Otherwise it will continue until there is a serious revolution. It's always this way..
 
Grant said:
Yet the Department of Energy, which doesn't produce any energy whatsoever, feels they can tell the American consumer which light bulbs they can use. Many f=ind that acceptable and the debate rages on for 66 pages on these boards.
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Really? The Dept of Energy produces no energy at all?

I beg to differ. I know for a fact that the Dept of Energy produces some energy. I helped them do it for about 6 months. The energy isn't available to the public, and is basically being produced for research purposes, but they are making energy.
 
Grant said:
It's absolutely germane to what you are saying.

You're suggesting that this present government cares for "future generations", your words, when they are going to be stuck with trillions of dollars in debt and unsustainable obligations.. It could be argued that this is the first American generation to sell out the future of their children, and I won't even bother raising the abortion issue.

Light bulbs?? Could there be a less serious debate?

What's happened to those great American people?
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It isn't that I don't agree with you about that the debt/spending issues isn't a serious problem, it is. Also I am pretty well against the government interfering in our personal lives (just check the links in my sig to my blog if you don't believe me) but the federal government exists to address issues that can't be resolved at a local level and/or of national importance. The environment is a shared good and it is definitely the federal govs duty to protect that resource.

I still disagree that the debt debate is germane to the conversation. So many people are mad about our nation's economic woes that they are broadly denouncing the government as wholly bad; it isn't. I agree that our government is too big, but there are some things you need a government for.
 
Bob Blaylock said:
Yes, there are, but telling us what kind of light bulbs we may use is certainly not one of them.
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And why not? There are lots of reasons light bulbs fall into the public/government realm.

The amount of energy we consume dictates how much pollution we make which affects the environment negatively and the environment is a public good.

The amount of pollution is also a matter of public health, something that the gov has established is within it's domain. Arguing from the perspective of infectious disease, hazardous materials, etc. end of the public health; not the ludicrous health care bill.

The amount of energy we consume dictates how much energy we need to get from foreign sources, making the issue of light bulbs a matter of national security for a number of reasons.

The light bulb debate is definitely in the public sector and less of a matter of personal freedom.
 
1Perry said:
You'll note, the ban has been rescinded.
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The new standards implementation was delayed until October of 2012, if that is what you mean by rescinded.
 
Grant said:
The government is trillions of dollars in debt, will not stop spending, and you feel they are concerned about "future generations"??? That does not compute!

And you want the government to decide what's best for the marketplace rather than the American consumer??

And what "unregulated market"? There are so many regulations that a start up business now is almost impossible, and only friends of the government with their crony capitalism, like Solyndra, GM, and many others, can make a go of it.

No wonder businesses are moving out of the States with this craziness going on.
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It is only 80,000 plus regulations. But don't worry. We have two and a half million busybody bureaucrats dreaming new ways to strangle any surviving American businesses. Eventually every company that can leave will leave.
 
Misterveritis said:
It is only 80,000 plus regulations. But don't worry. We have two and a half million busybody bureaucrats dreaming new ways to strangle any surviving American businesses. Eventually every company that can leave will leave.
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Somalia would be the dream state, hardly any public health regulations whatsoever!
 
satnightpoly said:
but the federal government exists to address issues that can't be resolved at a local level and/or of national importance. The environment is a shared good and it is definitely the federal govs duty to protect that resource.
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The use of light bulbs is so complex that it can't be handled at a local level? It's of national importance? I think you're overstating the case..

I still disagree that the debt debate is germane to the conversation. So many people are mad about our nation's economic woes that they are broadly denouncing the government as wholly bad; it isn't. I agree that our government is too big, but there are some things you need a government for.
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It is bad. And huge bad governments, trying to over control the population, is not a good thing. Right now it's light bulbs and that suits you. But it will stop there. Mattress inspectors are also here to stay until some common sense takes hold.
 
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