Jersey Shore Business Journal

May 14, 2008

A forever burning light bulb and other bright ideas

Have you heard about the world-renowned Centennial Bulb, burning brightly in a Livermore, Calif. firehouse for more than 107 years and counting? Generating awe and respect, the low-watt incandescent wonder is an enduring symbol of American reliability and ingenuity.
The record-setting “Livermore light bulb” never got turned off – ever, which many suspect is the secret to its longevity. It’s more than an embodiment of the “always-on-duty” ethic of the firefighter; having burned more than a million hours, even in its old age – it predates the nuclear bomb and the invention of the automobile - most would stack it against any New Age fluorescent.
Light bulbs have never much interested me. Since they always burn out at the most inconvenient time, they’re more of a nuisance than anything.
Alas, since the global warming hoopla put a stranglehold on the national psyche, we’re warned to worry about our “carbon footprint,” everything from using plastic bags at the grocery store to what kind of car we drive, and let’s not forget the use of energy-efficient light bulbs.
In this light, the can-do spirit of the incandescent Centennial Bulb intrigues me.
A recent article in USA Today (More Americans feeling ‘green guilt’), caught my eye. The second annual “green guilt survey” was commissioned by yet another group who pessimistically foresee the future as bleak and foreboding where sacrifices to stem energy consumption are both necessary and honorable. Environmentalists aren’t going to stop until everyone feels guilty, and like former vice president, Al Gore, they’re willing to fly around the world burning enormous amounts of fossil fuel to make sure you suffer.
“You really have been meaning to swap out your light bulbs for energy-efficient ones. And you really and truly did not mean to leave your computer on all vacation,” author Janet Kornblum writes. “You did, in fact, hear all those Earth Day messages. And yes, you know you’re not doing enough. You know it and you feel guilty.”
Kornblum goes on to suggest we “join the crowd” because more people than ever are feeling guiltier this year than they were last about their not-so-carbon-neutral habits. Women feel slightly guiltier than men; the impetus for the guilt is our children. Americans, she says, are “stepping up” their actions to make their lives a bit greener. You all can feel guilty all you want, I’m not falling for any of it.
I recycle, and I really, really hate waste. I balance my fossil fuel use with my family’s safety, and a bigger car wins every time. I live by the motto “reduce, reuse and recycle.” I love to ride my bicycle, but I’m limited by the dangers of say, Route 50 or the causeway.
The messages have been confusing. Several years ago those awful plastic bags appeared in grocery stores. We resisted. “Can’t cut down the trees,” they said, and the paper bags disappeared. Just as we got used to the plastic, paper reappeared. Now we have a choice but we’re made to feel guilty if we want to use plastic.
I reuse just about every plastic bag I collect in my travels, with the exception of bags that get icky stuff all over them. I use plastic bags to line bathroom trash cans or they serve other purposes; plastic bags are great for holding wet bathing suits after the beach.
Still, we’re made to feel guilty; now they’re after mothers who use disposable diapers. This year's green guilt survey, the USA Today story says, "is encouraging because it revealed that people understand their actions have a long-term impact, they're suffering this green guilt and want to do more."
Guilt can be a double-edged sword, says Chip Giller, president and founder of Grist.org, an environmental website written with a humorous twist.
"Green guilt certainly works for some people, but I have a concern that guilt ultimately is going to turn off more people than anything else," Giller says. "Green consumerism is only going to get us so far. To get big change, the United States needs to change big policies.”
So how guilty should you feel for – gasp - choosing plastic over paper or keeping your baby's bottom wrapped in Pampers?
"What I like to say is focus on the big stuff and don't sweat the small stuff," Giller says.
Thankfully, a common sense environmentalist though I suspect my SUV would be considered “big stuff.”
Kornblum is not satisfied. While it's true, she writes, that one person may not save the glaciers from melting with one diaper, “Paige Rodgers, a Marin, Calif., mother who co-founded a business making cloth napkins for kids - instead of wasteful paper - says that every little thing” really does help.
"I hear that echoed - this idea of feeling good about making small changes. Because it's something. We're doing something."
How it helps to have to wash all those cloth napkins is beyond me, but that’s not the point. It’s the “feel good” idea. If it makes you feel good to buy cloth bags and cart your groceries home, by all means do it. Don’t do it because someone made you feel guilty; we’re the land of freedom, you should have a choice. And remember, “green” often means more green - going green costs money.
Which brings me back to light bulbs; the incandescent bulbs that Thomas Alva Edison – a Jersey boy, by the way – helped bring about in 1879 with his invention of a carbon filament are under siege. Thanks to last year’s energy bill, the incandescent bulb that has served us so well for almost 130 years will be phased out.
Environmentalists say the incandescent bulb is an energy hog. Just five percent of the electricity it uses goes to light the bulb; the other 95 percent is heat. Improving light output and lowering heat output would reduce demand for electricity from coal-fired power plants, which emit carbon dioxide. CO2, some climate scientists say, is the single largest contributor to global warming. Others believe there is no global warming; rather global climate change is warming the planet ever so slightly.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs, CFLs, arrived in my house but didn’t last long. Troublesome power surges tended to cut the life span of our bulbs so we tried the twisty newcomer. I was not impressed with the price – about five times the cost of incandescent bulbs.
It was promised to last longer, burn brighter, but guess what? We tend to like softer light and this baby wasn’t just bright, it was harsh. With all the hoopla, power surges killed this funky bulb too and many more to follow. They have been an abysmal failure.
Incandescent bulbs are burning in most of the three billion to four billion screw-in sockets in American homes and businesses – swallowing about 10 percent of our electricity use. Retail giant Wal-Mart has said it wants to sell 100 million CFLs by 2008.
You can bet someone is making money on them, and it isn’t Edison’s heirs. Thankfully, a Minnesota congresswoman has stepped up to the plate, arguing that people should be free to choose traditional incandescent bulbs.
Rep. Michele Bachman has introduced a bill titled the “Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act.” This legislation would repeal the nationwide phase-out of conventional light bulbs. The first term Republican is challenging the nation’s embrace of energy-efficient CFLs, saying the government has no business telling consumers what kind of bulbs they can buy.
“This is an issue of science over fads, there’s little evidence to back up their claims,” she says. “Congress tends to jump on whatever the current buzz is in the 24-hour news cycle. The energy bill forces consumers and businesses to use only light bulbs chosen for them by the government.”
Hallelujah! We should have a choice! Wait, it gets better. Bachman raises safety questions about the small amounts of mercury in CFLs. The issue concerns Bachman as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, which outlined a series of steps that homeowners should take to clean up broken CFLs: open windows, use rubber gloves, dispose of all materials in sealed bags and remove it to a hazardous waste facility. Don’t forget to remove small children from the house while you are doing this; cleaning up a broken household light bulb?
“It’s hazardous waste; it’s almost as if you have to call the haz-mat team to your house,” said Bachman.
If this were anything other than a “green-friendly” light bulb, New Jersey legislators would legislate it. Mercury? They’d either ban CFLs for safety reasons or they’d impose a fee.
If they work, the bulbs use significantly less energy, but they cost a lot more.
“It’s a matter of personal freedom,” says Bachman. “I was outraged that Congress would want to substitute its judgment for the judgment of the American people. It struck me as massive Big Brother intrusion into our homes and into our lives.”
You go girl! Thankfully, the venerable incandescent may survive. General Electric Co. predicts that by 2010 it would make an incandescent bulb twice as efficient as today's – and by 2012 produce one that is four times more efficient, on par with CFLs.
"Banning any specific technology is absolutely unnecessary," says Kim Freeman, a company spokeswoman. "GE supports national policy that will drive improved energy standards for all lighting products, regardless of the technologies."
“America was founded on the idea that we the people are far better able to make our own decisions than bureaucrats in Washington,” Bachman says. “Yes, we have an energy crisis but Congress should blame itself for the mess. We have failed to take advantage of clean nuclear power, failed to build new refineries or tap into oil-rich reserves in our own country.
“Forcing a fad on the American people isn’t sound energy policy. Freedom is not the problem, it’s the solution,” she says. “Hold your breath; I’m asking Congress to be accountable to the people.”
“If they are going to intrude into our lives, control our most basic decisions, the least they can do is have enough respect for the American people to back up their claims,” she says. “I want their assurance the fluorescent bulbs don’t lead to higher prices, actually reduce carbon emissions and do not lead to a health risk.”
Bachman is taking on formidable environmental zealotry and an electrical industry poised to make unprecedented profits on the “greening of America.”
Let’s stop feeling guilty and hope the centennial bulb – the incandescent symbol of pride and freedom - burns forever.



Ann Richardson can be e-mailed at annrichardson@catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250.