Friday, February 29, 2008

A Bright Idea

Despite a congressional mandate banning the sale of common incandescent light bulbs by 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is warning that their compact fluorescent replacements are not safe to use everywhere.

The EPA says breakage of the energy-saving, mercury-containing CFLs can cause health hazards, especially for children and pregnant women, suggesting use of the bulbs over carpeted areas should be avoided. If bulbs break over carpeted areas, the cleanup may require cutting out pieces of the carpet to avoid toxic exposures.

I know it's not gun-related, but it certainly is freedom-related, bowing to the globalist ManBearPig alarmists.

Joe Farah at WorldNetDaily suggests the way to fight this is with a bumpersticker campaign.

Not me. I'm wondering what would happen if someone took one of these beasties, broke it into pieces, stuck it in an envelope and mailed it to his representative who voted for it, along with a note telling him they don't know how to legally dispose of it, so since he supports the law, he can deal with it.

What, it would not only be dangerous unless done in a very carefully controlled manner, plus it would violate postal regulations, and hazardous materials/waste regulations, and probably anti-terrorist laws? Gee, then in my fantasy scenario, I'd better make sure the protagonist does this with safety precautions and anonymously. For the same six bucks Farah wants for his bumpersticker, my fictitious character could probably-- in a speculative fantasy scenario that's not actually being proposed--come close to buying a bulb, a bubble wrap envelope and postage. And in this fictional speculation, they'd probably need latex gloves to keep fingerprints off everything, and make sure the enevelope and stamps weren't licked to leave DNA traces, plus figure out a way to address the note and envelope so they wouldn't be traced back to their printer or handwriting...

Good thing this is all an exercise in fantasy. But it does make you wonder--if it's a threat to the government why is it not a threat to the people they're forcing this on?

Look for American businesses to get closed down with massive noncompliance fines once this monstrosity--which is really a forced purchase from China deal--is implemented.

And please--nobody act out the fiction speculated on here: It would really be an impossible-to-ignore protest if people started doing this by the hundreds or even thousands, so the government would do its best to come down heavily and with full force on anyone they caught.

2 comments:

Kent McManigal said...

You can't use those bulbs on a dimmer switch either.

Anonymous said...

In my area there is a hdwe chain that sells CFLs at 99cents each.

Do this: Follow the electricians' trucks in the morning and find where they buy their parts, fixtures, wire, etc. (FORGET HOME DEPOT, dammit!) Buy the "commercial service" 130-volt incandescent bulbs there. My house is seven years old and only one of those bulbs has blown so far - and that one was in a bad fixture that pulsed madly.

Needless to say, Peet has a BUNCH of the old bulbs stashed...

P.