Re: Fluorescent Bulbs Are Known to Zap Domestic Tranquillity; Energy-Savers a Turnoff for Wives

[Marc_F_Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:37:33 GMT, nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston) wrote
in message  <463652fe.1689880921@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

>Take care when you remove it lest you drop and break it. ;)
>
>http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=aa7796aa-e4a5-4c06-be84-b62dee548fda

Dave has written that his apartment has several conventional fluorescents.
Maybe he should replace those long delicate tubes with CFLs which are
physically much more robust ;-)

For folks that have a hard time thinking their way out a paper bag, let me
point out that the CFL recycling problem and risks of accidental mercury
contamination could be addressed/mitigated by mandating thicker glass,
instructions/ethic to put CFLs in a plastic bag, and providing a
refundable deposit for CFLs dead or alive connected to a warranty program
Think US auto recall/warranty/recycling. This can and has been done.

Recycling for all manner of electronic products, not just CFLs,  is
already overdue.

The solution might begin with an expanded free, electronic waste/junk
recycling program of the sort that Dave's county *already* provides.

Put the old TV and VCR, and lead-laden computers with gold contacts, and
mercury thermostats and yes, long fluorescent lamps and CFLs (in a ziplock
bag) in the recycling and let the pros do their part of  the third "R" in
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Compared to other issues, this part of the problem is durn near trivial if
you _want_ to solve it. If you want to be an obstacle then you do what
some participants in comp.home.automation do which is to self-indulgently
spread fear and doubt with no hint of the solutions.

Did you know that the demand for iron ore in the US has plummeted because
we now recycle so much iron and steel? That with downsizing and
re-engineering of (eg) autos, it is (just ;-) conceivable that we could be
an exporter of steel for a while without mining any iron or mining our
landfills for goodies -- as we have already begun to do.

And eventually we will consider our landfills a resource to be tapped. The
landfill that Dave's very own trash goes to *already* creates methane that
is harnessed to power electrical generators.

(My research was the first  to show that methane (CH4) from pollution like
landfills  is/can be oxidized to CO2 in the shallow subsurface by bacteria
before it diffuses to the atmosphere see   Hult, M.F., and Grabbe, R.R.,
1988; Hult, M.F., Landon, M.K., and Pfannkuch, H.O., 1991  . This is
important because CH4 (methane) is a much more potent greenhouse gas than
is CO2. Capturing the methane and oxidizing ("burning";  CH4 + 3/2*O2 -->
2H20 + CO2 + heat) it in an motor that drives a generator recovers the
energy that would be 'lost' if you let the bugs do the cleanup by
themselves.)

... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org