the new light bulbs are ugly, can be expensive and the life expectancy of them is vastly overstated...turn them on and off, on and off and they don't do so good.

workers who manufacture them are raising health concerns with rashes and other skin ailments..

these bulbs contain mercury. if one breaks, instructions say to open all the windows..if you get it on your clothing, dispose of it.

did i mention the new bulbs are ugly?

why not let the free market decide? if the new bulbs have all these benefits, why not let the consumer choose?

oh. because liberals know what's best for all of us...or so they think. they pushed this bill through while they still had control of the House and the Senate. If the Democrats regain the House later this year, they will pass all kinds of new regulations like this.

That's strange, you forgot to mention that the new CFL bulbs contain mercury and therefore are NOT safe for the garbage or the recycling container. Since they're seeing far less than their claimed 5 year life span, perhaps a discussion of safe disposal of defective CFL bulbs, and of course the proper procedures and Hazmat emergency contact information number for breakages in the home.

Let the free market decide this issue - not the government!

and to help the U.S. become energy independent..... Dear Govt, Get the HELL out of my life and my choices of lighting my home!!! If any of you reading this would like to dispose of your real, non toxic lightbulbs, I will gladly accept them!!! The last time I checked, this was still called the land of the free! Seriously, I will take them off your hands.

Nobody becomes energy or anything else independent, since it's a world market. Energy independence is just a campaign slogan. Take a look at cell phones, if we were cell phone independent, we'd still be looking at guys in movies with bricks to their head in amazement.

Start stockpiling incandescent bulbs now. Otherwise the poisonous mercury bulbs or the ultra expensive LEDs will be all you can buy. And those ugly CFL's DO NOT last long at all, cast a horrible tinge of yellow in the room, and are just plain dangerous. I have removed all CFL's from my home even if they were brand new. Why would we want to install mercury filled poisons all over the house? Everything in which the government involves themselves, turns into a disaster. Can't wait until they get their incompetent hands on our healthcare. Vote them all out.

Has anyone else offered the thought of what the new LED bulbs are on the hazard of immune symptons? I know I am affected by flourent light and do not want to use these bulbs. They are going to raise health costs.

You will still be able to buy other types of bulbs. They have to meet the requirements, but they do not have to just be the bulbs you are all questioning.

LED lighting is the way to go. There aren't any toxins contained in an LED bulb, they are 75-90% more efficient than CFL, fluorescent or incandescent, they don't generate any measurable heat and the life expectancy is approximately 18 years. They're not ultra expensive, either! Contact me for more info - jtholl011@ledsource.com

Well said, Mary. Many thanks. (And I think we all know the answer to your question.)

Mary, you forgot the voting breakdown. EISA 2007 was won by a majority vote: 228 Democrats and 36 Republicans, this was an overwhelmingly Democrat decision. Most Republicans voted against it.

The voting in the House was 319-100 with 98 percent of the dems voting for it and 49.7 percent of republicans voting it in. Bush, a republican, signed it into law.

Does that make everything ok? I guess in your world it does.

Forget about the voting breakdown and political parties. The decay is systemic and BOTH parties are making laws that are extra constitutional. One of the main responsibilities of the Federal Government is to protect the border. They are not doing a very good job and are doing the exact opposite The light bulb issue is a symptom of a much bigger problem. The constitution is set to limit federal government, not to expand it. Unless and until every citizen, no matter the political affiliation, understands what has been happening, we will continue to see more and more light bulb type legislation. If you keep voting for the same idiots over and over, you will continue to get the same light bulb type laws over and over.

If you're addressing me, McCloud, I don't understand the question.

The Patch missed a great opportunity here. That light bulb should be getting crushed by a fist wearing a velvet glove with the words "Government mandated progress" embroidered on it.

... you know, we all better keep on eye on this kind of stuff. If we don't get a handle on this pretty soon the federal government will be telling us how much mileage our cars should get, what kind of foods we can feed our children at lunch, how much health insurance we need, how much water we can use to flush our toilets... and they might even have their hands down our pants at the airport.

Wouldn't it be a nightmare to wake up in that kind of world?

Sure is a good thing we're all ready to stand up for our rights and make sure it never gets that far.

If these light bulbs are all the rage, why do they have to pass a law to eliminate any other alternative?

What seems to be missed is that the law did not mandate this.
This was mandated by the EPA under regulatory powers based on their interpretation of the law.
And anyone who thinks these alternatives are better needs to quit using meter & use their eyes (assuming they remove their heads from - Oh, never mine!)

If these light bulbs are all the rage, why do they have to pass a law making us buy them?

Yes Mary. All you can do is sigh. The ignorant shall ever remain so. I'm really not up to wasting any more time on the misinformed.

What you may not realize is that the right wing and left wing are attached to the same carrion crow that is pecking all of our eyes out and feeding on our substance! Bush did sign it in to law on his way out the door. They simply paste the label on every piece of legislative horror with the phrase "common sense legislation" or they give it a strong sounding name like EISA or NDAA, (National Defence Authorization Act). The biggest problem is that hardly anyone reads these liberty destroying acts! Did you know the NDAA that Obama signed under the cover of darkness allows American citizens to be arrested without just cause or a warrant and can be detained indefinitely or killed without a trial or a judge. You now can simply disappear just like in Nazi Germany. I personally choose to never to use CFL's (aka."Death Spirals") in my house. The Govt is not our friend. They are not here to help us. This is incremental tyranny plain and simple.

Thats the fun part about tyranny, if I don't think it's a big deal then nobody else should either. As long as we are all in for tyranny, why not ban use of cars just for those who favor the elimination of the tax credits for the petroleum industry. Not a big deal for me.