Justin Higgins, lying warpimp extraordinaire, pretends to post The Truth About Compact Fluorescents. As usual, whenever Justin takes to his keyboard, the manure is spread thick.
The prevailing wingnut meme is that compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) are bad bad bad bad bad because they contain mercury, and when the bulbs are broken, the mercury will leach out and poison the air and water. But as with all of the pernicious crap that comes out of the Mighty Wingnut Wurlitzer™, this one is a grain of fact wrapped in a ton of excrement.
PZ Myers traces this garbage back to junk science promoter and industry shill Steve Milloy, and includes a handy dandy graph that demonstrates that, by using CFLs, mercury emissions into the environment are in fact reduced:
So it’s not nice stuff, but no signs of panic from the EPA. They actually go out of their way to tell you that, dangerous as mercury in CFLs is, if you’re serious about reducing mercury waste in the environment, they’re still better than incandescent lights.
Those coal-fired power plants (they’re building another big one over in the Dakotas that we aren’t too happy about) pump out mercury, too. If we weren’t sucking up as much power, we’d produce less mercury. Sounds like a good deal to me.
Milloy is silent on coal-fired power plants, of course.
Justin also claims that “there’s a huge problem when it comes to disposal”. Really? Why? CFLs can be easily recycled, like many other forms of household waste:
Recycling is typically free for the consumer. How difficult it is to find a place to do it, however, depends on where you live and how easily you can change your habits. People are accustomed to throwing small objects like light bulbs into the trash. But CFL bulbs require special recycling, to remove and reuse the mercury, and can’t simply be tossed in with the glass recyclables.
Efforts are under way to encourage more stores to open recycling centers, as IKEA has done, so that recycling a bulb can be as easy as buying one. Ask your local retailers if they will accept the used bulbs now or in the future.
To find other recycling programs in your area, check this EPA map or visit Earth911.org. The bulbs should not be incinerated.
It’s a huge problem, huge I tell you. No one has any idea whatsoever how we’re going to handle it… Yeah, Justin, okay, whatever. Chicken Little much?
Justin, are you going to issue a correction, or are you going to do what you usually do: ignore the facts, and stick with the bullshit?
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March 20, 2008 at 8:19 pm
socketplug
Meatbrain,
A hat tip to you and a wag of the finger to Justin. I was thinking of posting something similar (but got lazy) because I did about 15 minutes of googling and reading and found similar stuff. Thanks for posting! Here are three more links to add:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
March 21, 2008 at 4:22 am
Tony Iovino
Um, hey guys, nobody told me I was trading in my admittedly energy-wasting bulb for something that has more disposal instructions than a nuclear reactor.
I should have known something was up when Walmart started pushing them—they’re probably made with the toxins left over after the Chinese finish making our kids’ toys.
March 21, 2008 at 7:17 am
meatbrain
So the whole “take it to a recycling center” thing is too complicated for you, Tony? Which word are you stumbling over? Maybe you can find a bright twelve-year-old to explain it to you slowly.
March 21, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Big Dog
So taking it to the recycling center saves gas how?
I actually use CFLs because they are brighter and last longer. They save me money, the environmental implications are secondary. I throw them in the trash when they burn out.
As for mercury, there is a risk but it is airborne. If one breaks a bulb in an enclosed area it presents an inhalation hazard for people in the room. However, adequately ventilating the room and then leaving until a few air exchanges have taken place should be sufficient.
The mercury in the bulbs is vapor and it is a hazard in a confined space. There is also an issue of cleaning the broken glass but all are easily abated.
March 21, 2008 at 12:32 pm
meatbrain
So claims of gasoline savings were made where?
Then you are failing to dispose of them properly. But yet another failure of cognition on your part is hardly surprising.
March 21, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Big Dog
One should not have to go through so much to get rid of a bulb. If the environment is the issue then driving to a place to dispose of a bulb is a waste. Collecting them for disposal at one time is dangerous because if they get broken there will be more mercury vapor in the air. Each bulb contains about 5 mg of mercury and since they last a long time old bulbs might be sitting around for quite some time before enough of them accumulate to dispose of at the recycle center.
And you show YOUR ignorance. You see, the EPA states:
If your state permits you to put used or broken CFLs in the garbage, seal the bulb in two plastic bags and put it into the outside trash, or other protected outside location, for the next normal trash collection. CFLs should not be disposed of in an incinerator.
I dispose of them IAW the EPA recommendation, therefore I dispose of them properly.
However, you failed to address the issue of how CFLs can be bad, bad, bad for you. Mercury can hurt people and bulbs break in homes all the time.
March 21, 2008 at 1:22 pm
meatbrain
Virtually all waste in the US is disposed of by driving it somewhere. CFLs are no different in this respect.
That depends upon what your state allows you to do with them.
What are the statistics on the breakage rates of CFLs in the home? Got any? Didn’t think so.
And yes, mercury can hurt people. That’s why the reduced mercury footprint of CFL bulbs is preferable. But that was an inconvenient fact, so The Dogfaced Boy decided to ignore it.
March 21, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Big Dog
My state allows them to go in the trash so yes, I dispose of them properly.
Though a CFL has a reduced footprint it is still more dangerous than a regular bulb (the the user). The Permissible Exposure Limit is 0.1 mg per cubic meter. A bulb contains 5 mg. Any breakage will likely hit the PEL for a short period of time which is why the EPA recommends ventilation.
The rate cited for incandescent bulbs is based on coal fired plants which means there are varying rates for different parts of the country because not all plants are coal fired. Those using hydroelectric will have no mercury emissions.
Mercury emitted from a plant will disperse in the air which is not confined like the air in your house. That is why a bulb breaking is a greater hazard for the user (not necessarily the planet as a whole).
I said bulbs break all the time. This is no secret. People break bulbs so it is reasonable to say that people will break CFLs as well. They are made of glass so they will break. Incandescent bulb=no mercury when broken.
I like them and am not worried about the mercury but there is still a hazard associated with their use. I understand the exposure and know how to mitigate a release.
March 21, 2008 at 2:08 pm
meatbrain
So claims Big Dog — but then, he is a self-admitted liar.
March 21, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Big Dog
I did not lie in the instance you cited. However, like all human beings I have lied. You lie on a regular basis. I like how you turned this around by calling me a liar because I said my state allows CFLs to go in the trash. Here is what the Maryland website has on it:
CFLs should be recycled if possible. If recycling is not an option, a CFL may be placed in the household trash. MDE strongly encourages consumers to take advantage of available local recycling options for CFLs.
A CFL should be recycled IF POSSIBLE and may be placed in household trash.
You still failed to address the hazard of mercury. Will you not admit that it is a hazard or are you going to keep calling names and adding little meaningless items in hope that people will come join in and give you a few site visits?
March 21, 2008 at 5:40 pm
meatbrain
False. Dogbreath’s own words convict him. He first said “Max Cleland blew himself up when he dropped the grenade he was playing with”, and then “he was not playing”. Dogbreath knew that his first statement was a lie, and made a tacit admission to that effect.
I made no such claim. Dogbreath is lying again.