d-day

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

D is for dumb.

The energy bill now makes it official that the sale of traditional
incandescent light bulbs will be illegal in the USA in a few years.

This article in U.S. News & World Report is far more accurate that those
that have appeared over the past several months in the NYT and other
publications. It gives realistic figures on prices and CFL life and cites
actual facts about limited warranties.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2007/12/19/faq-the-end-of-the-light-bulb-as-we-know-it.html?PageNr=2

It's figure for the potential energy savings from a 60-70% reduction in US
energy used for lighting is very close to the back-of-the-envelope
calculations I've posted previously on this topic. Texas uses 12% of US
energy which is far short of the 22% and higher numbers spouted by the NYT
and certain eco-terrorists. And even the 12% is probably off by at least
half because 2/3 of US energy is used by industrial and commercial
facilities, most of which already use fluorescents or other high-efficiency
lighting, so there's little chance of actually seeing a 60-70% reduction -
20-25% for lighting (6-8% overall and much less worldwide) is probably
overly optimistic. That won't save many polar bears but the Philips
lobbyists have certainly earned their fees.

Of course, any reduction will affect the utilities' bottom lines so they
will find ways (service fees, minimum bills, etc.) to recoup their losses.

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