.50 cents 

                                         Congress Bans Incandescent Bulb

The Ban On These Will Start Next January

The phase-out of incandescent light is to begin with the 100-watt bulb in Jan. 2012 and end in 2014 with the 40-watt. Well, maybe it is time to say goodby to Edison's inneficiect gas-guzzler bulb.
The only problem is that the replacement bulb has even worse
consequences including: Mercury contamination of landfills or
anywhere else it happens to break including your kitchen floor.

Environmental scientists and waste industry officials are warning that a massive shift to compact fluorescent light bulbs will lead to far more mercury contamination than has been widely

supposed. Mercury is essential to a fluorescent bulb's ability to emit light; no
other element has proved as efficient. As effective as it is at enabling white light, however, mercury sometimes called quicksilver is also highly toxic. It is especially harmful to the brains of both fetuses and children. The problem comes when a bulb breaks. Mercury escapes as vapor that can be inhaled and as a fine powder that can settle into carpet and other
textiles. Also a disturbing revelation by a German Environmental Lab has shown that CFL'S emit a  of toxic "fog" of cancer causing chemicals  such as phenol, naphthalene and styrene.  
Their report advises that the bulbs should not be left on for extended periods, particularly near someone’s head, as they emit poisonous materials when switched on.

                                                                                                         $50.00
                                                     Then Comes The LED To Save The Day,Or Does It?
James Dakin, senior consulting engineer at GE Lighting in Cleveland, says that a mercury-free lighting replacement may be in the works: light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are advancing rapidly. "LEDs are perhaps the most promising mercury-free alternative," he says, "but they currently fall far short in the overall efficiency/color/cost trade-off." Can most people afford $50.00 for a 60 watt bulb? With 100 watt light bulbs soon to be extinct, manufacturers are set to release an equivalent wattage of LED bulb to replace them. Creating good alternatives to 100-watt bulbs has proven challenging to the lighting industry. The new bulbs have to fit into fixtures designed for older technology. The federal government, in a bid to stimulate LED development, has announced a $10 million “L-Prize” for an energy-efficient replacement for the 60-watt bulb. Philips is so far the only entrant in testing and Eftekhar expects the company to win it soon. But Lighting Sciences Group, a Satellite Beach, Fla. based company that specializes in LED lighting, plans its own entry, which it will demonstrate at the LightFair trade show. Philips has been selling a 60-watt-equivalent bulb since December that is quite similar to the one submitted to the contest. Just slightly dimmer, it still consumes 2 watts too much power and costs $40, whereas the L-Prize target is $22. Sylvania already sells a similar LED bulb for $40. What’s really needed, he told AP, is a new approach to lighting — new fixtures and lamps that spread out the LEDs, avoiding the heat problem. So,let's see,the average house has
about 40 bulbs multiplied by $40.00. Only $1600.00 and you too can be mercury free and enegy efficient.