Monday, April 28, 2008

Did you know they're poison?

The new and improved "green" light bulbs? Chock-full of mercury, each with enough heavy metals to poison over 600 gallons of ground water. If you break one in your home, you're supposed to cut out the carpet in that area and take it, and the broken bulb, to a recycling facility that handles hazardous materials. Drop a bulb, poison your children. And they cost more, don't work any better for folks in the country (where power surges routinely explode our lights), and don't for one minute think everyone will be properly disposing of these light bulbs. I have neighbors all around me who burn their paper trash and bury the rest. Do you really want to save the planet? Charge real world prices for power, no subsidies. Build more nuclear power plants. If the poison in the light bulbs doesn't bother you, a nuclear power plant should pose no threat. Technology has made nuclear power cleaner and safer than ever before, though it could be that, as a nation, our populace is too stupid to man the plants, government schools being what they are.
This, I hope, concludes my ranty-ness, at least for today. With the closing of our hamlet's tea-room, things in Franklin have been off-kilter all week, leaving me with entirely too much time to compose arguments in my head. If you're never coming back here, that's too bad, because there's going to be some fantastic dress photos, yarn p0rn, and goodies too numerous to mention. Also, the conclusion of the "send me three" e-mail addy contest will be on Mother's Day, so get your entries in. (Harriet has some very good odds. Surprisingly not many entries from the fabric camp.) And just so you don't think I'm all squishy-softness, here's a toss-in that's sure to start a rumble...
I don't like soy-based yarns. But corn is excellent. Type at y'all soon. C

3 comments:

Stacy said...

Yes it is quite unfortunate that a lot of the "green" ideas that people come up with have such bad effects. Mercury in the light bulbs - the debate over ethanol. I will just stick to composting and recycling and riding the bus. :)

Did Auntie M's Tea Room & Desserts close??

Thimbleanna said...

Your rants are crackin' me up Cami! Being not of your generation, your rock band rant just flat went over my head. I think I got the rest of 'em though -- you're my gal (not to mention TheManoftheHouse -- he'll probably ask you to marry him soon.) I hate those damn green bulbs. A friend of mine was making fun of someone the other day who said they don't give off as much light. But it's true. Just wait until all the goobers that invented those stupid bulbs get old eyes -- they definitely provide inferior quality, suck-ass light!

Annalea said...

Isn't it odd how all of the big things the establishment is pushing in the name of going green, or lessening the carbon footprint, have these horrifying side- or after-effects? Mercury in the lightbulbs (forced to take it out of immunizations, they had to find somewhere to put it), and now the push for biofuel from corn will make the food shortages far, far worse than they would have been otherwise. (The amount of corn it takes to make one gallon of biofuel feeds a family of four for a month in a third world country.)

I have a feeling there are other motives behind all of these initiatives besides being gentler on the planet . . .