Yep, your instincts are right. In the Senate, only Barrasso, Colburn, DeMint, Enzi, Hatch, Inhofe and Kyl (along with Stabenow from the ‘Rat end of the aisle) had the Malkins to vote “Nay”, with Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Hagel, McCain and Obama MIA. Over in the House, only 100 Representatives voted against, with Pubbie nays barely beating out yeas 96-95 (and 10 no-votes).

I don’t get it. The “authorities” go ballistic if a high school kid spills a drop of mercury—they often close the school and quarantine the kids.

But now they are requiring people to replace mercury-free light bulbs with ones containing that hazardous material.

Where are the environmentalists?

We use some flourescent light bulbs, but they don’t seem to last much longer than incandescent despite the claims of much longer MTBF.

But this is no different than the push for ethanol, which is likely to cause a large amount of environmental damage as well. Even New Scientist, a science magazine that makes Scientific American look like a neocon rag, had an article a couple of weeks ago about how the switch to ethanol is likely to make AGW worse.

The mercury thing is going to be a huge issue, methinks—don’t people drop and break light bulbs all the time?

And I’m with SeeDub, gonna hoard incandescents.

I am no fan of the law, which obsoletes the incandescent bulb. It should have been market forces that determine the successor - not Congress, which has a knack for backing the wrong horse on technology.

As for CFLs, I’ve bought quite a few of them, and the light is actually quite good. I’m not nearly as concerned about the mercury issue because when you factor in the mercury released at the energy generation source (when you burn oil or coal, you’re releasing an amount mercury into the atmosphere), you will still be a net reduction if you go with the CFL over incandescents and new CFLs use a fraction of the mercury found in earlier generations.

However, the real quantum leap in light technology will be when organic LEDs are available and affordable.

I for one will hold out for a highly luminary candle wax, thank you. Maybe with just a trace of opium along with a light scent. Light to read by, a pleasant smell, and a mild buzz. No mercury. Who wouldn’t buy?