TX GOP Strikes Blow For Freedumb - Will Attempt End Run Around Federal Light Bulb Rules

[hatrack]

It doesn't have the ring of "Remember the Alamo," but a new battle cry has gone up in Texas: "Remember the incandescent bulb." Texas has become the first state seeking to skirt a federal law that phases out old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs in favor of more efficient lamps — a move that has emerged as a shining example of Republicans' resolve to strike down what many view as excessive federal regulation.

Texas hopes to get around the law with a measure recently signed by Republican Gov. Rick Perry declaring that incandescent bulbs — if made and sold only in Texas — do not involve interstate commerce and therefore are not subject to federal regulation. "I think that Texans as a whole are tired of the federal government trying to micromanage our lives," said George Lavender, a Republican state representative who sponsored the legislation.

Critics of the federal mandate hope the Texas action will spur Congress to repeal the light bulb rules or prompt other states to adopt similar laws. The Republican-controlled U.S. House on Monday is expected to take up a repeal measure sponsored by a Texas congressman. Efforts also are underway in Pennsylvania and South Carolina to follow Texas' lead.

EDIT

"This is about more than just energy consumption, it is about personal freedom,'' said Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas.), who's leading the repeal effort in the House. He recently cheered his state's action, declaring on Fox News: "I do thank the Lord that I live in Texas."

EDIT

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-adv-texas-light-bulbs-20110710,0,4858840.story

Couldn't have said it better myself, Congressman - SO glad you don't live in my state, or "represent" me. :rofl:

[Drale]

1. Personal Freedom?

Ok then I want to use my personal freedom to paint everything the "good" congressman owns in lead paint and maybe if Karma exists he'll get cancer.

[Ian David]

2. Enjoy your "Freedom Brown-Outs." n/t

[saras]

3. Awesome amount of stupid - you'd think we've actually replaced incandescents with something workable

It's too bad there's so many jobs that other bulbs won't do...
It's too bad CFLs are too toxic to be practical...
It's too bad LED lamps are unaffordable although the LEDs themselves are less then pennies...
It's too bad there's so many stupidly built houses that require ridiculous numbers of light bulbs...
It's too bad we don't build houses to manage energy efficiently as a system...
It's too bad that the life of the typical cheap CFL is not any longer than that of an incandescent bulb...
It's too bad that CFLs, and other fluorescents, don't work in cold weather.
It's too bad that neither CFLs nor LED bulbs are useful as damp and condensation eliminators.
It's too bad they can't write laws to fix stupid suburban issues without harming everyone else as a side effect.

In my part of the country, incandescent bulbs aren't inefficient in most cases. Nine months of the year the heat is a valuable byproduct, at exactly the same cost as any other electric heat, and reducing your other heat bill by exactly that amount. In the summer, neither the heat nor the light is needed. The lifetime of incandescent bulbs can be vastly extended by dimming them slightly, and dimmers are cheap - a lamp, bulb, and dimmer together is less money than a good-quality LED bulb.

Not to mention that they're less toxic both to manufacture and dispose of (or at least they could be, being composed of simpler, more easily recycled materials and components - whether they are or not is an economic decision, not a technological one)

[Maine_Nurse]

4. Absolutely, the 'ban' is ridiculous to broadly implement...

I will attest to the usefulness of incandescents as useful heat sources in the winter, especially if you have a well insulated house. They are like mini-space heaters that only heat the room you are using. Ditto on the using flouro's outdoor or in unheated outbuildings in the northern winters. Try lighting one up when it is -15F. Not to mention that you can't use CFL's with timers. And let's see a 60w "equivalent" CFL keep an exterior oil tank from gelling up in the middle of winter or thawing frozen water pipes safely.