Australia Outlaws Incandescent Light Bulbs

[Reincarnated]

Light bulbs get the flick

By Mark Kenny and staff writers

February 20, 2007 12:18pm

The initial cost of replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs will be offset by longer-term savings, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning announced standard incandescent light bulbs would be phased out within three years in a bid to reduce energy consumption.

"We are introducing new energy efficiency standards and these old lights simply won't comply, they will be phased out and basically over a period of time they will no longer be for sale," Mr Turnbull said.

Compact fluorescent or low-wattage bulbs cost about $5 more, but are more energy-efficient and save an average of $30 per year.

"They'll be a bit dearer to start off with but over time they'll be less expensive and they'll last four to 10 times longer," said Mr Howard.

"We need to take practical measures in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

The standard incandescent light bulb, developed for the mass market more than 125 years ago, consists of a metal filament glowing white-hot in a vacuum which wastes up to 95 per cent of the energy it uses.

Compact fluorescent lights use about a fifth of the electricity to produce the same illumination. Each bulb also lasts between four and 10 times longer.

The move to sell the electorate a simpler environment policy contrasts with Labor's plan to introduce emissions trading, increase mandatory renewable energy targets and sign the international Kyoto climate agreement.

Details of the plan, including costs, have not been made available, but a source said it was expected the purchase cost of the new technology lights would come down as the volume of sales dramatically increased.

Federal Government figures suggest energy used for household lighting in Australia contributes up to 12 per cent of coal-energy greenhouse gas emissions and around 25 per cent of emissions from commercial and public lighting.

It is felt the change to fluorescent lighting could cut greenhouse gas emissions by the order of 800,000 tonnes a year by 2012.

Founder of environment group Planet Ark, Jon Dee, said he had been working with Mr Turnbull's predecessor, Ian Campbell, and lighting company Phillips on the idea since late last year.

Mr Dee said Planet Ark and Phillips were to announce a Ban the Bulb campaign next week, but that had now been gazumped by Mr Turnbull's announcement.

Although he was disappointed by Mr Turnbull's timing, he was glad the Government had made the decision.

"The fact is we have to do more real world things to reduce our impact on the environment and reduce climate change," he said.

"The fact that the Government is committing to this idea is absolutely fantastic."Source

It's great news to hear a country taking steps to use energy effienctly. California is currently trying to do this also (they have 13 million more people than all of Australia combined). Hopefully it works out there and maybe soon in other states.

[Celumnaz]

kinda conflicted, sorta... not really...

the bulbs imo are pretty sweet. great light, energy savers, look cool (to me) and imo I think everyone should use them

problem I have is I think it should be their choice to get them or not. I wish they would, but I'm against writing law for it. Now they don't have much of a choice at all.

The whole environment angle is (again, to me) just garbage. These things are made with mercury no? Would like to run the altruism brain scan on these guys.

[Reincarnated]

the bulbs imo are pretty sweet. great light, energy savers, look cool (to me) and imo I think everyone should use them

Me too.

problem I have is I think it should be their choice to get them or not. I wish they would, but I'm against writing law for it. Now they don't have much of a choice at all.

You need to get your priorities straight. There are greater threats to our freedoms right now than the gov't making you give up horribly inefficient lightbulbs.

The whole environment angle is (again, to me) just garbage.

Yeah, it's totally garbage. How dare they try to save us energy and money.

[crystal sage]

..I don't like them..... Flourescent lights tend to make me feel ill... then there is the white noise ...the hum that is really irritating...

Design compromises and challenges

Apart from durability, the primary purpose of good CFL design is high electrical efficiency.

These are some other areas of interest:

* Quality of light: A phosphor emits light in a narrow frequency range, unlike an incandescent filament, which emits the full spectrum, though not all colors equally, of visible light. Mono-phosphor lamps emit poor quality light; colors look bad and inaccurate. The solution is to mix different phosphors, each emitting a different range of light. Properly mixed, a good approximation of daylight or incandescent light can be reached. However, every extra phosphor added to the coating mix causes a loss of efficiency and increased cost. Good-quality consumer CFLs use three or four phosphors—typically emitting light in the red, green and blue spectra—to achieve a "white" light with color rendering indexes (CRI) of around 80. (A CRI of 100 represents the most accurate reproduction of all colors; reference sources having a CRI of 100, such as the sun and tungsten bulbs, emit black body radiation.)

* Size: CFL light output is roughly proportional to phosphor surface area, and high output CFL bulbs are often larger than their incandescent equivalents. This means that the CFL might work fine in the socket, but that the light cover might not fit over it or that the user might not have the room to squeeze the CFL in place.

* Covered performance: To approximate the look of an incandescent bulb, the CFL burner can be enclosed behind a cosmetic glass cover. However, this causes the temperature of the burner to increase greatly, increasing the gas pressure inside the burner and decreasing the brightness (and therefore efficiency) of the lamp. These problems have largely been solved using special mercury compounds and other techniques, and now globe and flood versions are widely available (at hardware stores and elsewhere).

* Electronics: Dimming control can be added to the lamp with support from the driver electronics. Also, large deployments of CFLs (in a hotel lobby, for example) require specialised electronics with low levels of electronic distortion to avoid disturbing the electricity supply. This is usually not a problem with home use because of the few lamps deployed. One problem with dimmable compact fluorescents is that when they dim the color temperature stays the same. This means that a dimmed light appears grey instead of warm orange like a incandescent light when dimmed.[citation needed]

* Time to achieve full brightness: Compact fluorescent bulbs can take 30 seconds or more to reach full brightness. This compares to 0.1 seconds for incandescent bulbs and 0.01 seconds for LED lamps.

* CFLs often do not fail suddenly like incandescent lightbulbs do. Symptoms of impending CFL failure may come months ahead, with more and more prolonged turn-on times until full luminosity is reached, buzzing of the ballast, random periods of reduced brightness and the appearance of growing black spots on the glass tubing's inside.

* In places infested with insects,or in an outdoor environment bugs have a habit of climbing into the "cage" formed by the CFL tubing and perishing inside. Some CFLs have an extra oval shell hiding the tubeworks to prevent this.

* Buzz: The newer spiral lights have very low hum or buzz, but in a very quiet room can still be heard. This can be annoying to some people.

* Outdoor Use: In very cold weather the time to full brightness can be extended to several minutes or not turn on at all.

* Differences among manufacturers: There are large differences among quality of light, cost, and turn-on time among different manufacturers, even for bulbs that appear identical and have the same color temperature.

and then look at these articles....\\

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/what_about_merc.php

Many people, when they learn that compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury vapor, get skeptical about the much talked-about benefits of these and assume that traditional incandescent light bulbs are less damaging to the environment despite requiring more power and having shorter lives. After all, mercury is really bad stuff, right? "A toxic metal known to cause brain, spinal cord, kidney and liver damage in humans—does not break down easily and, once airborne, often finds its way into groundwater, rivers and the sea, where it can cause a host of contamination issues for wildlife and people alike." But as often is the case, the truth can be a bit counter-intuitive.

http://www.daylighting.com/Article-HealthH...entLighting.htm

Health Hazards of Fluorescent Lighting

Known effects and their likely causes

The following is a list of symptoms and diseases known to be linked to exposure to fluorescent lighting:

*

Headache, eyestrain, eye irritation, fatigue, difficulty in concentration, increased rate of ‘misjudgments’ and accidents, malaise and irritability can be caused by noise, glare and flicker from fluorescent lighting.

*

Increased stress (which may in turn lead to heart disease) can arise from increasing the intensity of artificial light with fluorescent tubes. It has been shown that increased use of artificial light (rather than natural light) affects the levels of hormones in the body, particularly the hormones associated with stress, such as cortisol.

*

Variation in brightness, as provided by daylight, is necessary for the normal functioning of the body’s rhythms. The monotonous illumination of fluorescent lighting may also add to the changes in hormone production.

*

Allergic skin reactions and dermatitis can be caused by exposure to fluorescent lights. An unknown number of people suffer from ‘cutaneous light sensitivity’ due to fluorescent lights. This means that not only can they become allergic to fluorescent lighting but they can become more sensitive to ordinary sunlight.

*

Certain long-term, mild skin diseases can become worse if the sufferer is exposed to fluorescent light. Some medical drugs (including some tranquilizers, antibiotics, heart drugs and diuretics) can make you particularly sensitive to UV radiation (photosensitivity). Skin eruptions then occur even with the small doses of UV (in the 300-320nm wavelength range) emitted by white fluorescent lights.

*

Hyperactivity has been linked to the flickering produced by fluorescent lighting. Microwave emissions from fluorescent lighting are also suspected of contributing to these behavioral disorders. Other mild behavioral disorders in children may be made worse by working at school under fluorescent lighting.

Suspected effects

There is also some evidence that the following effects may be caused by exposure to fluorescent lights:

*

Increased risk of seizure in epilepsy sufferers

*

Higher incidence of miscarriage

*

Speeding up the aging of the retina.

I think we need to find another solution!!!!!!

Flourescent lights suck!!!

"

[Reincarnated]

Since CFLs use about a quarter of the energy of incandescent bulbs they are a key part of efforts to fight pollution. However, CFLs contain trace amounts of mercury. The amount is not large enough to pose a hazard to users (it is about 1/5 the amount in a typical digital watch battery).

Source

[crystal sage]

http://www.full-spectrum-lighting.com/duro...rum%20Light.htm

Fluorescent Lighting and Melanoma

A study published in the prestigious medical journal Lancet and a Russian study found that fluorescent light rather than sunlight promotes melanoma, proportionately to the time of exposure. In the Lancet study, among a sample of nearly 900 women, those who worked indoors under fluorescent lighting had 2.l times higher melanoma risk (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.32 to 3.32) than others. Among women exposed for 20 years or more, the relative risk (RR) was 2.6 (95% CI, 1.2 to 5.9). Relative risks were lower in women who had been most heavily exposed to sunlight, both playing outdoors as children and sunbathing as adults. In a smaller sample of men, the RR for fluorescent lights with 10 or more years' exposure was 4.4; and for those who had spent the least time in the sun while children, the RR was 7.3.

And so we see that lengthy exposure to full-spectrum sunlight, including trace UV, partially "immunized" both men and women against later development of melanoma. These exposures had taken place in the 1960s and 1970s, before the supposed thinning of the protective ozone layer far above us. But as we saw earlier, UV penetration of the atmosphere has not increased.

All this thoroughly explodes the claim that sun exposure causes malignant melanoma.

In the 19 years since publication of Beral's carefully researched article in the Lancet, no one has refuted the finding. But many ignore it and could make more money if the article and its information would simply go away.

Why do fluorescent lights cause melanoma? "Emissions from such light extend into the potentially carcinogenic range."

Dr Ott found that, specifically, the cathodes located at the ends of the light tubes emit X-rays and other electromagnetic pollution. Plants living under the central portion of long fluorescent light tubes grow normally; but when placed close to the ends of the tubes, their growth is abnormal and stunted. Laboratory animals placed in a cage close to the ends of these light tubes become aggressive and cannibalistic.

Dr Ott also found that the light from fluorescent tubes, as well as TV sets and computer terminals, causes red blood cells to clump together after prolonged exposure. This reduces alertness, promotes a tired feeling and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.34 But when the ends of the light tubes are shielded with lead and traces of UV are added to the light, plants and animals under them grow and function normally. And so wrapping the ends of fluorescent light tubes with lead tape, says Dr Ott, is fully as important as full-spectrum light itself.

Melanoma can also result from excessive exposure to sunlamps; their rays and those from bright halogen lights include some of the dangerous UVC. If users of sunlamps consume a junk diet, their risk of melanoma will be increased. Halogen lamps are also a serious fire hazard if they fall over or if inflammable material touches the extremely hot bulb.

Sidebar.

Valdemar Valerian, PhD, and his Leading Edge Research Group "...noticed that DNA molecules undergo erratic vibrational patterns in the vicinity of cathode ray tubes (television or computer monitors), and that a certain subsonic signal emanating from computer monitors connected to the Internet make the DNA molecules vibrate in unison, in a form of entrained pattern. We consulted the eminent Russian researcher Professor D. S. Goldstein. He said: 'I know that. It is a phenomenon known as electronically induced sonochemistry. That is how mutations occur, and that is why I stay away from the Internet

[Reincarnated]

Jeez, is there anything negative these lights don't cause? They use these lights in every office building and school. They are obviously not as bad as you trying to make them seem.

[Reincarnated]

Valdemar Valerian, PhD, and his Leading Edge Research Group "...noticed that DNA molecules undergo erratic vibrational patterns in the vicinity of cathode ray tubes (television or computer monitors), and that a certain subsonic signal emanating from computer monitors connected to the Internet make the DNA molecules vibrate in unison, in a form of entrained pattern. We consulted the eminent Russian researcher Professor D. S. Goldstein. He said: 'I know that. It is a phenomenon known as electronically induced sonochemistry. That is how mutations occur, and that is why I stay away from the Internet.

LOL! Stay away from those evil internets! Edited February 24, 2007 by Reincarnated

[crystal sage]

LOL! Stay away from those evil internets!

If only computers were solar powered.... or run by tea lights...

http://www.mdsupport.org/library/hazard.html

maybe a smart version of fullspectrum lighting...that alternates...to different frequencies.. on a timer.... eg red light...blue...yellow...green.. violet..etc... that mimics sunlight...at various times of the day... that way it wouldn't interfere with our seratonin...and melatonin production....and all the attatched hormonal /chemical balances....

I usually have my lights on dimmer switches as normal do seem to affect my pineal area...causing discomfort... fluorescent lights are the most uncomfortable...and I remember reading years ago that they deplete certain vitamins...affecting the nerves and the immune system... can't seem to find the relevant article yet....

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/lightHealth/index.asp

Edited February 24, 2007 by crystal sage

[Captain Rachael]

Australia seems to have become overtly environmental all of a sudden. Does this 'Phasing out' have anything to do with this 'National Carbon Test'? What is that?

Yes, i could google it, but I am lazy

If they think it will help the Earth, then its fine by me. I just really dont want to go out and by new light bulbs.

[crystal sage]

Australia seems to have become overtly environmental all of a sudden. Does this 'Phasing out' have anything to do with this 'National Carbon Test'? What is that?

Yes, i could google it, but I am lazy

If they think it will help the Earth, then its fine by me. I just really dont want to go out and by new light bulbs.

No I don't think so... ever since Codex... http://www.tga.gov.au/cm/fs_codex.htm

and the government trying to persuade us that it is a good idea to use the pristine land as a refuse for Nuclear waste

http://www.oba.com.au/uploads/downloads/me...NEWS_com_au.htm

and cutting back on welfare... and education...

http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dis...hange_1996.html

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/may2000/budg-m11.shtml

selling off beloved companies....

http://www.gwb.com.au/mai.html

most of us were against the war...yet Howard ignored us...

Australia was as close to paradise as you could find in this world... but ..... I gather profiteering...greed... big corporations are taking over....

[Captain Rachael]

Good point. Wow, now i feel rather Ignorant.

Australia is becoming much more rundown in terms of environmental, uh, brilliance? Perth, even in the past five years, has changed so much.

Specially in terms of housing developments, from Fremantle to Mandurah beautiful native bushland has been cleared to make way for those really really big mass-housing developments. There are so many of them and they are so incredibly ugly. Blah.

Next thing i know, they will be clearing away the lovely Nature Reserve i live next to.

[crystal sage]

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...gi?artid=392876

Fluorescent light-induced DNA crosslinkage and chromatid breaks in mouse cells in culture.

"A single 20-hr exposure of mouse cells derived from embryonic or lung tissue to cool-white fluorescent light (4.6 W/m2) causes both DNA damage and chromosome aberrations including chromatid breaks, exchanges, and minutes. In Kohn's alkaline elution technique, the DNA from exposed cells elutes more slowly than that from shielded cells. Because larger molecular weight DNA elutes slower than smaller, we interpret these results to mean that the DNA in cells exposed to light is crosslinked. The estimated frequency of crosslinks is sufficient to account for the number of chromatid breaks observed. The types of chromosome aberrations produced by light indicate that the primary lesion results in chromatid rather than chromosome breaks, and the results suggest an influence of cell density in that cells in densely populated cultures showed few or no chromatid breaks after irradiation. The present results, together with observations from the

literature, suggest that the DNA crosslinkage and the chromosome aberrations produced by light may be related."

http://www.starrynightlights.com/lightpoll...man_health.html

Light Pollution and Your Health

Study: Light at Night is Dangerous to Health

Night life under electric lighting may cause serious behavioral disorders and physical diseases including cancer, according to a specialist team led by Professor N.N. Pertov Scientific Research Institute of Oncology, Russian Ministry of Healthcare

remember the new baby wards... the constant strong lights.....

Healthcare

Light 'risk' to premature babies

Constant exposure to artificial hospital lighting may damage the development of premature babies' biological clocks, research suggests. (ed: yet another example of how little we really know about light)

Do you recall how sometimes pharmacology is kept with or in rooms, hospitals with fluorescent lights..

here's a study done in 1996 that showed how some deteriated after only 4 hours!!!

"Compatibility of thiotepa (lyophilized) with selected drugs during simulated Y-site administration.

Report

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. 53(9):1041-1045, May 1, 1996.

Trissel, Lawrence A.; Martinez, Juan F.

Abstract:

The compatibility of lyophilized thiotepa injection with selected other drugs during simulated Y-site injection was evaluated.

Five-milliliter samples of thiotepa (lyophilized) 1 mg/mL in 5% dextrose injection were combined with 5 mL each of 100 other drugs, including antineoplastics, anti-infectives, and supportive care drugs, in 5% dextrose injection or 0.9% sodium chloride injection. The combinations were stored at room temperature (approximately 23 degrees Celsius) under constant fluorescent light. Visual examinations were performed immediately and at one and four hours with the unaided eye and, if there was no obvious incompatibility, with a high-intensity mono-directional light beam to enhance visualization of small particles and low-level turbidity. The turbidity of each combination was measured as well. Particle sizing and counting were performed on selected solutions.

Most of the test drugs were compatible with thiotepa 1 mg/mL during the observation period. Two drugs exhibited incompatibilities with thiotepa. The thiotepa-cisplatin combination developed turbidity in four hours, and the thiotepa-minocycline hydrochloride combination developed a bright yellow-green discoloration in one hour.

All the test drugs except cisplatin and minocycline hydrochloride were compatible with thiotepa 1 mg/mL (prepared from the lyophilized formulation) for at least four hours at room temperature.

Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 1996; 53:1041-5.

Copyright © 1996 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved. "

http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/ajhp/abstract...#33;8091!-1

Edited February 24, 2007 by crystal sage

[crystal sage]

Effect of room fluorescent light on the deterioration of tissue culture medium.

* Wang RJ.

A major cause of tissue culture medium deterioration is exposure to room fluorescent light. Riboflavin and tryptophan present in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's minimum essential medium, when exposed to light, yield toxic photoproducts responsible for loss of the ability of the medium to support clonal growth of human, mouse and Chinese hamster cell lines. Procedures for minimizing medium deterioration are discussed.

PMID: 1244326 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Kinetics of phototoxicity of Fischer's medium for L5178Y leukemic cells.

* Griffin FM,

* Ashland G,

* Capizzi RL.

The uncontrolled exposure of Fischer's medium to cool white fluorescent (CWF) light or other sources emitting near-ultraviolet or visible light absorbance by riboflavin is a crucial random variable in experiments which utilize L5178Y cells and this medium. The radiation effects of CWF light result in the rapid development of toxic photoproducts in the medium which are cytostatic at lower doses of radiation and cytotoxic at higher doses. After a 24-hr suspension in medium irradiated for 3 or 48 hr, the cloning efficiencies of cells subsequently plated in light-protected medium were 87 and 3%, respectively. The corresponding near-ultraviolet doses for these periods of exposure to CWF light were 0.22 x 10(4) for a 3-hr exposure and 3.47 x 10(4) J/sq m for a 48-hr exposure. Cells incubated in lightly irradiated medium resumed growth at nearly normal rates following a 24- to 48-hr period in which no increase in cell numbers occurred. Exposure of medium containing riboflavin, but not tryptophan or tyrosine, to CWF light also produces toxic medium. Tryptophan enhances riboflavin-induced phototoxicity, whereas tyrosine diminishes this effect. As photosusceptibility of this system is very high, Fischer's medium must be fully protected from all sources of light absorbable by riboflavin.

PMID: 7237424 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...p;dopt=Abstract

Edited February 24, 2007 by crystal sage

[crystal sage]

it's aging.... breaks down cellulose...

connective tissues...

even paper!!!!!

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/mara...ion-causes.html

"Rapid and serious deterioration of paper is caused by the oxidation of cellulose brought about by the ultraviolet rays in sunlight and fluorescent light. There are two effects of light on paper that result in its ultimate embrittlement and deterioration. First, it has a bleaching action that causes some whitening of paper and fading of colored papers and certain inks. Second, it causes any lignin, which may be present in the paper, to react with other compounds and turns it yellow or brownish. It is this reaction that results in newspapers' turning yellow on exposure to light. Certain invisible changes also occur at the same time when these visible effects of light are taking place. Fibers in the paper are broken into smaller and smaller units until they are so short they can no longer maintain the bonds necessary to hold the paper together. Some woods bleach under the action of light; some turn "yellow" and some darken. Unfortunately, the reactions initiated by light continue after the source of the damage has been removed."

[Reincarnated]

I guess Australia is screwed then, crystal sage. You better get the word out fast!

[crystal sage]

I guess Australia is screwed then, crystal sage. You better get the word out fast!

yes... I'm beginning to suspect that Howard has sold us as test tube subjects for the rest of the world... to try out all their whacky ideas...and new drugs... it's small enough. ....only 20 odd million and far away enough.....for a 'non-3rd world' test subject for all possible futures..ideas..experiments....

Edited February 25, 2007 by crystal sage

[The Skeptic Eric Raven]

Jeez, is there anything negative these lights don't cause? They use these lights in every office building and school. They are obviously not as bad as you trying to make them seem.

Damn. Evil lighting. I will now go and destroy my kitchen lights.

[crystal sage]

Damn. Evil lighting. I will now go and destroy my kitchen lights.

... or go for mood lighting and burn candles... which is worse for the environment... candles or electricity????

Any way... why can't Howard help fund/subsidise everyone to have solar pannels etc on their rooves.... and water tanks to catch any rain...??? Wouldn't that help the world a lot more????

http://www.unisun.com.au/

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=45948

and add Wind Power to it... and ...

http://www.michigan.gov/cis/0,1607,7-154-2...5774---,00.html

Geothermal Energy

http://geothermal.marin.org/pwrheat.html

HOW IS ELECTRICITY GENERATED USING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

In geothermal power plants steam, heat or hot water from geothermal reservoirs provides the force that spins the turbine generators and produces electricity. The used geothermal water is then returned down an injection well into the reservoir to be reheated, to maintain pressure, and to sustain the reservoir.

There are three kinds of geothermal power plants. The kind we build depends on the temperatures and pressures of a reservoir.

1. A "dry'" steam reservoir produces steam but very little water. The steam is piped directly into a "dry" steam power plant to provide the force to spin the turbine generator. The largest dry steam field in the world is The Geysers, about 90 miles north of San Francisco. Production of electricity started at The Geysers in 1960, at what has become the most successful alternative energy project in history.

2. A geothermal reservoir that produces mostly hot water is called a "hot water reservoir" and is used in a "flash" power plant. Water ranging in temperature from 300 - 700 degrees F is brought up to the surface through the production well where, upon being released from the pressure of the deep reservoir, some of the water flashes into steam in a 'separator.' The steam then powers the turbines.

3. A reservoir with temperatures between 250 - 360 degrees F is not hot enough to flash enough steam but can still be used to produce electricity in a "binary" power plant. In a binary system the geothermal water is passed through a heat exchanger, where its heat is transferred into a second (binary) liquid, such as isopentane, that boils at a lower temperature than water. When heated, the binary liquid flashes to vapor, which, like steam, expands across and spins the turbine blades. The vapor is then recondensed to a liquid and is reused repeatedly. In this closed loop cycle, there are no emissions to the air.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ADVANTAGES OF USING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY?

* Clean. Geothermal power plants, like wind and solar power plants, do not have to burn fuels to manufacture steam to turn the turbines. Generating electricity with geothermal energy helps to conserve nonrenewable fossil fuels, and by decreasing the use of these fuels, we reduce emissions that harm our atmosphere. There is no smoky air around geothermal power plants -- in fact some are built in the middle of farm crops and forests, and share land with cattle and local wildlife.

For ten years, Lake County California, home to five geothermal electric power plants, has been the first and only county to meet the most stringent governmental air quality standards in the U.S.

* Easy on the land. The land area required for geothermal power plants is smaller per megawatt than for almost every other type of power plant. Geothermal installations don't require damming of rivers or harvesting of forests -- and there are no mine shafts, tunnels, open pits, waste heaps or oil spills.

* Reliable. Geothermal power plants are designed to run 24 hours a day, all year. A geothermal power plant sits right on top of its fuel source. It is resistant to interruptions of power generation due to weather, natural disasters or political rifts that can interrupt transportation of fuels.

* Flexible. Geothermal power plants can have modular designs, with additional units installed in increments when needed to fit growing demand for electricity.

* Keeps Dollars at Home. Money does not have to be exported to import fuel for geothermal power plants. Geothermal "fuel'" - like the sun and the wind - is always where the power plant is; economic benefits remain in the region and there are no fuel price shocks.

* Helps Developing Countries Grow. Geothermal projects can offer all of the above benefits to help developing countries grow without pollution. And installations in remote locations can raise the standard of living and quality of life by bringing electricity to people far from "electrified" population centers.

HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY IS FROM GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

Since the first geothermally-generated electricity in the world was produced at Larderello, Italy, in 1904 the use of geothermal energy for electricity has grown worldwide to about 7,000 megawatts in twenty-one countries around the world. The United States alone produces 2700 megawatts of electricity from geothermal energy, electricity comparable to burning sixty million barrels of oil each year.

WHAT ARE SOME NON-ELECTRIC WAYS WE CAN USE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

Geothermal water is used around the world, even when it is not hot enough to generate electricity. Anytime geothermal water or heat are used directly, less electricity is used. Using geothermal water 'directly' conserves energy and replaces the use of polluting energy resources with clean ones. The main non-electric ways we use geothermal energy are DIRECT USES and GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS.

DIRECT USES Geothermal waters ranging from 50 degrees F to over 300 degrees F, are used directly from the earth:

* 'to soothe aching muscles in hot springs, and health spas (balneology);

* to help grow flowers, vegetables, and other crops in greenhouses while snow-drifts pile up outside (agriculture);

* to shorten the time needed for growing fish, shrimp, abalone and alligators to maturity (aquaculture);

* to pasteurize milk, to dry onions and lumber and to wash wool (industrial uses);

* Space heating of individual buildings and of entire districts, is - besides hot spring bathing - the most common and the oldest direct use of nature's hot water. Geothermal district heating systems pump geothermal water through a heat exchanger, where it transfers its heat to clean city water that is piped to buildings in the district. There, a second heat exchanger transfers the heat to the building's heating system. The geothermal water is injected down a well back into the reservoir to be heated and used again. The first modern district heating system was developed in Boise, Idaho. (In the western U.S. there are 271 communities with geothermal resources available for this use.) Modern district heating systems also serve homes in Russia, China, France, Sweden, Hungary, Romania, and Japan. The world's largest district heating system is in Reykjavik, Iceland. Since it started using geothermal energy as its main source of heat Reykjavik, once very polluted, has become one of the cleanest cities in the world.

Geothermal heat is being used in some creative ways; its use is limited only by our ingenuity. For example, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, which has one of the largest district heating systems in the U.S., geothermal water is also piped under roads and sidewalks to keep them from icing over in freezing weather. The cost of using any other method to keep hot water running continuously through cold pipes would be prohibitive. And in New Mexico and other places rows of pipes carrying geothermal water have been installed under soil, where flowers or vegetables are growing. This ensures that the ground does not freeze, providing a longer growing season and overall faster growth of agricultural products that are not protected by the shelter and warmth of a greenhouse.

GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS Animals have always known to burrow into the earth, where the temperature is relatively stable compared to the air temperature, to get shelter from winter's cold and summer's heat. People, too, have sought relief from bad weather in earth's caves. Today, with geothermal heat pumps (GHP's), we take advantage of this stable earth temperature - about 45 - 58 degrees F just a few feet below the surface - to help keep our indoor temperatures comfortable. GHP's circulate water or other liquids through pipes buried in a continuous loop (either horizontally or vertically) next to a building. Depending on the weather, the system is used for heating or cooling.

Heating: Earth's heat (the difference between the earth's temperature and the colder temperature of the air) is transferred through the buried pipes into the circulating liquid and then transferred again into the building.

Cooling: During hot weather, the continually circulating fluid in the pipes 'picks up' heat from the building - thus helping to cool it - and transfers it into the earth.

GHP's use very little electricity and are very easy on the environment.

In the U.S., the temperature inside over 300,000 homes, schools and offices is kept comfortable by these energy saving systems, and hundreds of thousands more are used worldwide. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rated GHP's as among the most efficient of heating and cooling technologies.

WHAT PARTS OF THE WORLD HAVE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

(Geothermal Worldwide)

* For electricity and direct use: Geothermal reservoirs that are close enough to the surface to be reached by drilling can occur in places where geologic processes have allowed magma to rise up through the crust, near to the surface, or where it flows out as lava. The crust of the Earth is made up of huge plates, which are in constant but very slow motion relative to one another. Magma can reach near the surface in three main geologic areas:

1. where Earth's large oceanic and crustal plates collide and one slides beneath another, called a subduction zone The best example of these hot regions around plate margins is the Ring of Fire -- the areas bordering the Pacific Ocean: the South American Andes, Central America, Mexico, the Cascade Range of the U.S. and Canada, the Aleutian Range of Alaska, the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and New Zealand.

2. spreading centers, where these plates are sliding apart, (such as Iceland, the rift valleys of Africa, the mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Basin and Range Province in the U.S.); and

3. places called hot spots-- fixed points in the mantle that continually produce magma to the surface. Because the plate is continually moving across the hot spot, strings of volcanoes are formed, such as the chain of Hawaiian Islands.

The countries currently producing the most electricity from geothermal reservoirs are the United States, New Zealand, Italy, Iceland, Mexico, the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan, but geothermal energy is also being used in many other countries.

* For geothermal heat pumps, use can be almost world-wide. The earth's temperature a few feet below the ground surface is relatively constant everywhere in the world (about 45 - 58 degrees F), while the air temperature can change from summer to winter extremes. Unlike other kinds of geothermal heat, shallow ground temperatures are not dependent upon tectonic plate activity or other unique geologic processes. Thus geothermal heat pumps can be used to help heat and cool homes anywhere.

HOW MUCH GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IS THERE?

Thousands more megawatts of power than are currently being produced could be developed from already-identified hydrothermal resources. With improvements in technology, much more power will become available. Usable geothermal resources will not be limited to the "shallow" hydrothermal reservoirs at the crustal plate boundaries. Much of the world is underlain (3-6 miles down), by hot dry rock - no water, but lots of heat. Scientists in the U.S.A., Japan, England, France, Germany and Belgium have experimented with piping water into this deep hot rock to create more hydrothermal resources for use in geothermal power plants. As drilling technology improves, allowing us to drill much deeper, geothermal energy from hot dry rock could be available anywhere. At such time, we will be able to tap the true potential of the enormous heat resources of the earth's crust.

[Please Explain]

This energy saving bulb was more expensive to use, why?

It easily gets busted, maybe 4 times a year you gonna buy one.

And how much is that ? A$40 ?

Better to turn off the lights, saves you money.

[crystal sage]

This energy saving bulb was more expensive to use, why?

It easily gets busted, maybe 4 times a year you gonna buy one.

And how much is that ? A$40 ?

Better to turn off the lights, saves you money.

$40 x how many light fittings in a house?????

and then think of the extra cost of disposing them safetly ( their mercury content)....and the costs...to the pocket.. to one's health...to the government...both in disposing and for the added health expenses...... to the environment.. toxic landfills.. as not all will be recycled..... it makes it all sound like a silly idea!!!

Edited February 25, 2007 by crystal sage

[Reincarnated]

Apparently your wrong considering it's the law now. Like I said before, the mercury inside the bulbs is only 1/5 of the amount in a watch battery. If you are worried about mercury so much, why don't you try stopping the use of batteries in Australia? And considering these lights are in almost every office building and school in the U.S., we haven't seen an epidemic of problems you have listed. So save it for the conspiracy section.

When this law goes into effect, please report back the crisis that ensues.

[Please Explain]

I think it's gonna be a battle between a screw and a bayonet.

[Reincarnated]

This energy saving bulb was more expensive to use, why?

It easily gets busted, maybe 4 times a year you gonna buy one.

And how much is that ? A$40 ?

Better to turn off the lights, saves you money.

No, they don't get easily busted. They are a lot more sturdy and better quality than the thin fragile incandescent light bulb. But since it's glass, if you drop it of course it will break. They don't "easily get busted" for no reason. Even if it did break before the used hours, you would get your money back.

-CFLs are typically guaranteed for 8,000 hours. (Incandescent bulbs typically last 500 to 2000 hours, depending on exposure to voltage spikes and mechanical shock.)

-The CFL, therefore, will save $36.00 in electricity (compared to the incandescent bulb) during its rated life. Some American discount stores sell packages of CFLs for about $2.75 per CFL and incandescent bulbs for about $0.50 each, a $2.25 difference. The estimated payback period for buying the CFL instead of the incandescent bulb is, therefore, 500 hours, which is 100 days at 5 hours per evening. Two additional advantages of the CFL are that the majority of these bulbs never get beyond touch-warm, making them significantly safer for children and the elderly, and providing a reduced risk of fire in homes and offices.

-Some manufacturers such as Philips and GE make very low mercury content CFLs[3]. Safe disposal requires storing the bulbs unbroken until they can be processed. Consumers should seek advice from local authorities. Usually, one can either:

• Bring back used CFLs to where they were purchased, so the store can recycle them correctly; or
• Bring used CFLs to a local recycling facility.

The first step of processing involves crushing the bulbs in a machine that uses negative pressure ventilation and a mercury-absorbing filter or cold trap to contain and treat the contaminated gases. Many municipalities are purchasing such machines. The crushed glass and metal is stored in drums, ready for shipping to recycling factories.

-Note that coal power plants are the single largest source of mercury emissions into the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (when coal power is used) the mercury released from powering an incandescent bulb for five years exceeds the sum of the mercury released by powering a comparably luminous CFL for the same period and the mercury contained in the lamp.

Source

Edited February 25, 2007 by Reincarnated

[crystal sage]

No, they don't get easily busted. They are a lot more sturdy and better quality than the thin fragile incandescent light bulb. But since it's glass, if you drop it of course it will break. They don't "easily get busted" for no reason. Even if it did break before the used hours, you would get your money back.

Have you ever tried to get your money back on one???

Is there a meter on the bulbs to prove how long you have used them for???

..And how consciencious is the average 'Joe Blow... or..Jane... about recycling???

And how long is it going to be before some little kid...hearing about the mercury content of these globes...tries to do some silly scientific experiement on it...???

Just because these bulbs get used in schools and offices in America...doesn't prove that they are safe... healthy....

Is the general population getting healthier each year as the gov't and manufacturers are soooo concerned about the average consumer???

Don't the published scientific experiements and findings... make you wonder if there is anything to be concerned about???

...and.... ...I'm just throwing my little tantrum before the event... the Government actually implements it... so that perhaps enough people think about it.... the politicians wives...etc... have a strong word with their silly spouses etc... and say stop it!!! ...it's going to hurt our kids!!! here's the evidence!!!!...if there's doubt... (about the safety of these)... chuck it out!!!!!!

.. our children's well being comes first!!!!

these may be a little better... (full spectrum)

http://www.apollolight.com/new_content/lig...ontroversy.html

but I think they were only originally introduced to be used short term.. eg 1/2 hour doses

Edited February 25, 2007 by crystal sage