Change A Light Bulb & Help Change The World. Join The DU Group At OneBillionBulbs.com

[orleans]

Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) are the light bulbs that can help to make a difference.

They will save you money on your electric bill, they will last far longer than your regular bulbs, and they will save on pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.

www.onebillionbulbs.com lets you sign up and keep track of how many bulbs you have changed, the watts you've replaced with the lower wattage of the CFL, the amount of money you have saved since replacing the bulb, the amount of annual savings, and the amount of CO2 you are helping to prevent being dumped into the atmosphere.

so far i have replaced 29 bulbs and have given away 20 to friends.

and, with permission, we now have a DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND group on that website that you can join.

"Democratic Underground (DU)

"Open to members, friends, supporters, and anyone else interested in democratic/progressive values including the care of our earth.

"For more information please visit our online community/discussion board.

http://onebillionbulbs.com/Group/DU

so start changing those light bulbs and join me in the DU group to record your contribution to our environment.

thanks.

orleans

[951-Riverside]

1. CFLs contain mercury.... how is that helping the environment?

Last thing we need is trash dump sites overloaded with mercury.

[skids]

2. Burning coal releases mercury into the air.

Using CF bulbs results in less total mercury in your air and groundwater than using incandescents, in this country, where we burn a lot of coal.

And you'll only have to replace them once or twice before LEDs are more efficient than CFs.

[KurtNYC]

7. Phillips is targeting 2009 for general lighting LEDs

and they are big enough to make it happen.

[jpak]

20. I'll be first in line...

n/t

[liberalEd]

48. Good

I love the idea of LEDs for lighting, but the current crop are too expensive and not bright enough.

[Whoa_Nelly]

3. Thanks for the tip. Didn't know about the merury

http://www.nema.org/lamprecycle/epafactsheet-cfl.pdf

At the above link is informatiom re: mercury in CFLs, how to be safe if one breaks in your home, and a hotline number about where to dispose of them.



Some snips from the above link:


Always Dispose of Your CFL Properly
While CFLs for your home are not legally considered hazardous waste
according to federal solid waste rules, it is still best for the environment to
dispose of your CFL properly upon burnout. Only large commercial users of
tubular fluorescent lamps are required to recycle. If recycling is not an
option in your area (see below on how to find out), place the CFL in a
sealed plastic bag and dispose the same way you would batteries, oil-based
paint and motor oil at your local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
Collection Site. If your local HHW Collection Site cannot accept CFLs
(check Earth911.org to find out), seal the CFL in a plastic bag and place
with your regular trash.

Safe cleanup precautions:
If a CFL breaks in your home, open nearby windows to disperse any vapor that may
escape, carefully sweep up the fragments (do not use your hands) and wipe the area with a disposable paper towel to
remove all glass fragments. Do not use a vacuum. Place all fragments in a sealed plastic bag and follow disposal
instructions above.

What are the Health Risks of Mercury and
How do CFLs Fit In?
Mercury is an essential ingredient for most energy-
efficient lamps. The amount of mercury in a CFL’s
glass tubing is small, about 4mg. However, every
product containing mercury should be handled with
care. Exposure to mercury, a toxic metal, can affect
our brain, spinal cord, kidneys and liver, causing
symptoms such as trembling hands, memory loss,
and difficulty moving.

As energy-efficient lighting becomes more popular, it
is important that we dispose of the products safely
and responsibly. Mercury is released into our
environment when products with mercury are broken,
disposed of improperly, or incinerated. If you break a
CFL, clean it up safely. And always dispose of it
properly to keep CFLs working for the environment.

Resources for Recycling or Proper Disposal of CFLs
NOTE: Residential recycling programs are not yet available in most regions.

1. Earth911.org (or call 1-800-CLEAN-UP for an automated hotline): Online, enter your zip code, press “GO,”
click “Household Hazardous Waste”, then “fluorescent light bulb disposal.” The site will identify your nearest
residential mercury recycling facility or mail disposal method. If you find no specific information on CFL disposal,
go back and click on the link for “Mercury Containing Items.”

2. Call your local government if the Web site and Hotline number above does not have your local information.
Look on the Internet or in the phone book for your local or municipal government entity responsible for waste
collection or household hazardous waste.
CFLs Responsible for Less Mercury than
Incandescent Light Bulbs

Ironically, CFLs present an opportunity to prevent mercury
from entering our air, where it most affects our health. The
highest source of mercury in our air comes from burning
fossil fuels such as coal, the most common fuel used in the
U.S. to produce electricity. A CFL uses 75% less energy
than an incandescent light bulb and lasts at least 6 times
longer. A power plant will emit 10mg of mercury to produce
the electricity to run an incandescent bulb compared to only
2.4mg of mercury to run a CFL for the same time.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has prepared this fact sheet to respond to questions/
concerns about mercury in energy-efficient lighting that uses compact fluorescent technology.

[orleans]

6. thanks for posting that link

people need to know about the mercury in the lights & learn how to dispose of them properly.

but to not use them for that reason, i believe, would be due to ignorance or laziness. (unless you have a child or a cat that keeps running around the house breaking light bulbs--and in that case i would suggest using them only in ceiling fixtures)

[Whoa_Nelly]

I know I can be a butterfingers at times

Have dropped my fair share of light bulbs in the past :yoiks:

[Whoa_Nelly]

9. Oops...another butterfingers moment

Internet dropped and I accidentally posted twice

[politicat]

14. IKEA takes them for recycling.

May or may not be of use, but it's nice to know that at least one big box that sells them is making the effort to clean up after themselves.

[kestrel91316]

21. Ok. Here's the deal. You go ahead and do without ANY

artificial lighting, since it's all harmful in some way.

Just don't try to stop the rest of us from making an environmentally appropriate choice.

[Ellipsis]

27. They are starting to throttle up a national recycling effort.

NPR had a piece on it just this week. ...It'll will be a while. Most people don't know about the mercury and just toss them into the trash... and you can't just put them in with the rest of recyclables given the fragility of the lamp. Most recycling centers won't take them either for the same reason. It's a concern and they need to accelerate the program. IMO it should be handled by the retailer... maybe a returnable incentive of some sort.


Your right ...they need to nail that part down right quick.

[orleans]

46. i bought some at target a couple months ago--and they came in a box of four

two of the boxes had broken bulbs in them. i took them up to the check out with me because i didn't want someone to buy these boxes with broken bulbs--but i didn't know about the mercury content in the bulbs at that time. i gave them to the checker, and she tossed them aside for whoever comes around to pick up the junk left at the check out.

i would hope they would inform their employees about this--but i doubt they do.

[ReverendDeuce]

4. Did it already... five years ago... but I support the cause.

n/t

(Yes, my bulbs are still working fine!)

[skids]

5. As a race, we are in danger...

...of forgetting how to replace a lightbulb. When mass production LEDs break the efficiency barrier (lab bench LEDs already have) they last 3-5 times longer than even a CF bulb. All those "and four to turn the ladder" jokes won't seem so funny anymore, I guess :-)

I wonder if you calculated all the time people spend shipping, stocking, buying and changing lightbulbs, what the cumulative effect would be.

[murielm99]

11. I did mine longer ago than that.

One of them had to be replaced after about five years. It did not burn out. It popped when lightning struck very close to the house. Several other bulbs popped, too.

I don't have them in every light socket, but I have several now.

I didn't know I was saving the planet. I thought I was saving money.

[TroglodyteScholar]

29. Popped as in busted open? n/t

[murielm99]

32. No.

I live in the country, on a hill. Lightning strikes can be a problem. We have had our well struck twice.

The last time lightning struck close to the house, several bulbs made a popping noise, and ceased to work. They did not break open. This does happen here every once in a while.

I did not dispose of the bulb properly. I did not know that I had to do anything special. I am glad to know it now.

I think it was about four years ago that it popped. The one I replaced it with is still operating.

[slackmaster]

45. I installed a bunch of them in 2000

So far only one has burned out.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

8. A great b'day or X-mas gift to give.

n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Small points about CFL's...

one of my many jobs over the years was selling lighting equipment and designing showroom lighting, so I have a little background in this.

Most cfl's being sold now are alonmg the lines of "warm-white" flouescents, and are a sickly yellow color. Manufacturers do this because these produce the most lumens per watt and they can claim more energy saving. Besides, they are cheap to make. These yellow lights distort colors and make things like reading and close work difficult. They might also contribute to SAD, headaches, and other mood disorders, although there's always fighting about stuff like that.

It's not difficult to add red phosphors and balance the lighting to something very close to daylight, but it does cost a few nickels more per lamp. Full-spectrum standard flouorescents are available, but rarely on sale and you often have to hunt them down. Full-spectrum CFL's are even more difficult to find, but they are out there without having to blow a bundle on an Ott Light. I personally have some T-8 wattsaver full-spectrum flourescents and a few CFL's, including some reflectors, and they are beautiful light although the 4' tubes cost around 4-6 bucks apiece and the reflectors almost the same.

So, while it's fine to grab a few cfl's at the dollar store or a Walgreen's display and save some electricity, I suggest pounding on retailers to stock the better lamps. Manufacturers make them, they just have to get into the retail stream, and the costs will come down if they sell.

I don't have a good website handy for this, but the basics are:

CRI (color rendering index) is the scale showing how accurate the light from a flourescent lamp is. A warm-white is about 65-70, a cool-white is about 75-80, and "full-spectrum" lamps are in the mid 90s. The CRI will always be printed on the lamp container if the bulb is any good, and higher is obviously better.

Color Temperature is the ratio between red and blue, and it ranges from around 3000K for a typical incandescent lamp to over 7000K for specialty color-checking flourescents. Full-spectrum flourescents are available throughout this entire range, although not always as CFL's, and while I personally prefer 5000K lamps for general use, the 3200K lamps are neat for ambient lighting-- just like the old incandescent bulbs everyone is used to.

LED lamps, btw, are coming on strong and save even more watts, but all the ones I've seen have even more ghastly light then the yellow cfl's. They claim to be white, but they are really a very bizarre bluish white-- almost useless for actually seeing things and should only be used for emergency or low level ambient lighting. Again, there is no technical reason why they can't make a decent LED if we demand it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Excellent site for full-spectrum lighting of many types

It explains pretty much everything you'd need to know. I bought my "SAD lamp" from here.

http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/

[TreasonousBastard]

15. Pricey! But they do have some good stuff there. I usually...

head for Home Despot first, then a few specialty lighting stores to get this stuff. For reading lights, replacing the 9-12 watt minitube in a cheap fixture with a good tube usually works, and is a lot cheaper. If you can find that decent minitube.

[politicat]

16. In re: LED and CFL bulbs....

Using good lampshades helps to no end. We have mostly (only? pretty close to, anyway) CFLs and two LED bulbs. The CFLs work best in the lamps with shades; the LEDs work best in the lamps with frosted diffusers.

The living room table lamps have black linen shades and the overhead has a paper lantern shade (currently cream, but it has been red, silver, black and white, too.) The shades really do help balance the light shed. I used to wrap CFLS in either surprise pink or cool lilac roscolux (depending on room colors and orientation to North) to balance them, but good lampshades mean I don't have to anymore.

[orleans]

17. have you used the cfl flood lights? and do you know if there

are colored reflectors that can be attached to them to color the lights? i've seen white flood lights but that won't do for a halloween yard display.

[politicat]

24. We used them in some indoor key spot lighting

But I haven't used them outside. I don't know about reflectors, but the bulb shape is the same, so if you can find standard reflectors, you should be able to use them across the board. Alternately, you could do poor mans' gel -- dissolve some colored gelatin in hot water and dip the bulbs in it until you get to the color you want.

[orleans]

26. dip them in gelatin? i never heard of that. wouldn't that just wash off

or melt off from the heat? have you tried that?

(i've heard of gels that stage lighting uses--those plastic, transparent-like papers--but never heard of gelatin..)

[politicat]

28. Gelatin is the original gel.

Trick I learned from an old-time hand... If you dip the bulb in gelatin and let it dry, it won't melt, though it will wash off. Not good for outdoor applications. The hand I learned it from used it when he couldn't make a piece of roscoe do what he wanted it to do, so he'd layer dyed gelatin until it was the right color. You can layer it by dipping it repeatedly until you get buildup, drying it by plugging in the bulb in between dips.

Originally, all gels were sheets of colored gelatin, but roscoe (the plastic stuff we now use) lasts longer, is less prone to fading, and is water proof. But if you need a sheer color across the bulb for indoor use, a gelatin dip works.

For an outdoor application, I'd use roscoe sheet, or I'd paint the bulb with stained glass paint (craft-stores).

[eppur_se_muova]

40. Thanks for that info. I bought some Ott lamps years ago, really like the color.

Very neutral, like sunlight at noon on a clear day.

[Morgana LaFey]

47. Harmony has some

and also some small CFs that fit where other CFs won't (which I need to get some of) --

www.gaiam.com

1-800-869-3446

[JCMach1]

12. Apart from the environment, I have moved to fluorescents in the UAE

because of living with 220 electricity. 220 is a recipe for blowing incandescent bulbs constantly.

Fluorescents provide decent light quality and don't blow like incandescents because the can take the 220 surge. The metal in incandescents cannot as easily.

So, it was no choice for me.

[orleans]

18. thank you unhappycamper and Black for joining the du group

so far--between the three of us--we have helped to eliminate 713.6 pounds of CO2!

http://www.onebillionbulbs.com/Group/DU

everyone else is more than welcome to sign on

[BlackVelvet04]

65. You're welcome....

I'm going to change more and will post an update when I do.

[orleans]

19. shameless kick for the afternoon/lunch crowd. n/t

[kestrel91316]

22. I replace most of the lights in my house with CFLs 5-6 years ago

and NONE of them have had to be replaced yet. I expect the kitchen lights to go first.

[orleans]

23. i never heard of these lights until fairly recently...wish i had known

about them sooner.

on edit: maybe it has something to do with this cave i insist on living in!

[orleans]

25. woo-hoo! we got another one into the DU group! thanks beth!

we have now saved 2,205 pounds of CO2 (1.10 TONS!)

we've switched out 55 bulbs.

[tsuki]

30. I had already started at work and home. nt

[orleans]

31. yeah!!! thanks diana for joining the DU group! (tell your friends!)

pollution reduction to date:
lbs of CO2 = 2241
tons of CO2 = 1.12

http://www.onebillionbulbs.com/Group/DU

[and-justice-for-all]

33. What do I do with the incandescent bulbs?

I also joined and will be replacing a few more soon...

[orleans]

34. well, i have a drawer full of them now. i'm not sure what i'm going to

do with them. the cfls didn't work in the sockets that hold bulbs that turn on when i open the garage door--so unless i can figure out something different i guess i'll save them for the garage. but i'm not too worried about that at this point.

thanks for joining the DU group! (tell your friends!)

:hug:

[and-justice-for-all]

41. Would the Incandescents be considered Glass??

If they are, we can just take them to the recycling center.

[orleans]

44. that's what i was thinking--but i probably couldn't put them in the

bin on the curb--

i'll probably have to call about this and ask the village here. my guess is that i could take them to a recycling center, but just not put them out curb-side

[and-justice-for-all]

49. I think I will put them in with my other glass recycleables then...nt

[orleans]

56. i wouldn't. i called the company that picks up the curbside

recyclables and they told me i couldn't put any light bulbs in the curbside pick up. so i would suggest you call your waste disposal company and find out what deal is on this.

i don't know where i can recycle regular light bulbs offhand. maybe at this fire station that takes various hazardous chemicals, paints, household cleaners & crap like that.

[NMMNG]

35. I'm in

I'm replacing every bulb I can with CFLs. I've replaced six so far and will keep going until every possible bulb has been replaces.

[orleans]

37. thank you! n/t

[bklyncowgirl]

36. We changed ours a few years ago.

I have cathedral ceilings with track lighting. The bulbs kept blowing out and changing them was a pain. We'd replaced all the other bulbs with compacts but those were a challenge because I'd never seen the sort of bulbs that these unit takes in compact florescent.

One day I saw them featured at Home Depot. We replaced them and despite rising electrical costs, our bills actually went down! Best of all I don't have to get up on a ladder and change the damn things every couple of months.

Next up--the exterior lights! I just found a new Compact Florescent bulb made for outdoors--we'll have to change the globe to fit it so maybe today it's off to Lowes to find something that will work.

[flvegan]

38. New member kick!

Swapped out 11 today, myself. I have 8 more to go.

[orleans]

42. thanks flvegan! n/t

[RayOfHope]

39. I joined! I switched out 6 yesterday

will switch out more next paycheck.

[orleans]

43. thanks dadsblacksheep! n/t

[RestoreGore]

50. Time to recommend has expired

But consider this recommended anyway. You can also go to http://www.18seconds.org to find out numbers across the country.

[orleans]

53. i just went on that site- where do they get their numbers from?

you can't register or sign in to color your street--at least not as far as i can tell from trying to navigate the website

interesting though. but no one on my street has a green spot--and i've changed 29 bulbs in my house so far. can you help me out here?

[RestoreGore]

55. I'm trying to find out

It says the information was updated the 25th of this month. If i can't find out there I will try to do so by trying to contact the production company for An Inconvenient Truth, since I believe Lawrence Bender, one of the producers is aligned with this site as well.

[MODemocrat]

51. How do the prices compare on regular bulbs vs. CFLs?

Are they real expensive? Also will I be able to use my same lamps and fixtures?

[orleans]

57. the cfls are a bit more expensive--around three dollars per light.

the long term savings is worth it--and, of course, it cuts back on energy used.

the ones i've bought lately are the swirl design and they seem to come in different sizes depending on the wattage you get.

most all of them fit where i need/want them to. you might want to get a pack and just experiment.

i have a nightstand light and i put a 13 watt bulb in it--which is the shortest of the swirls i could find.

i have a pole light that holds six bulbs and i bought these "torpedo" shaped bulbs that were only 3 watts each (replacing out six 40 watt bulbs) but the torpedos were around six bucks each.

two places where i didn't change the lights:
one is over the bathroom mirror--i have a globe that covers the socket and i haven't climbed up on a chair to see if the cfl that is the 75 or 100 watt replacement (20 or 26 watts) will fit.
also, i wasn't able to get them to work in the ceiling light for my electric garage door--it seemed like they fit but they just didn't work. ??

[Beaverhausen]

52. I bought a bunch of "Reveal" lights recently

a feng shui thing. So I can't replace all my old bulbs yet.

but I also got some CFLs and will replace whatever burns out with them. I saw a good variety at OSH yesterday so I know where to go.

[uppityperson]

54. we did yrs back, except for reading lamps which I like the yellow incandescent ones for.

[Nicole]

58. I've changed 48 bulbs.

That's everything here but the Carriage Lights by the garage.

I joined the group but haven't entered my info yet. I don't remember the dates I changed all those as I did it over a year's period.

[orleans]

59. thanks for joining the group nicole! n/t

[orleans]

60. our du group stats:

to date the group has changed a total of 171 bulbs (at least those recorded)

so far we have reduced CO2 pounds by 4,993
so far we have reduced the tons of CO2 by 2.50
and so far we have the equivalent of 1 acre of forest!

[orleans]

61. oh yeah, and there are 15 members. n/t

[orleans]

62. make that 172 bulbs changed from the group...so far. n/t

[upi402]

63. yay! I did this years ago!!!

It probably helped me on that "how many planets do you require" online test.
I think I had like 1.3 planets. I'm trying to cut down but I just can't stop myself.

[DainBramaged]

64. I started using them a couple of years ago

Only light that isn't a compact is the one here on my desk for reading. I changed a total of 9 bulbs when I moved in here in April of 2005, and all are still working.