I want to get a light thing off my chest, if you get my drift -- something that gets on my nerves. ("If you get something off your chest, you confess to something that has been troubling you. ... If you get someone's drift, you understand what they are trying to say. ... If something gets on your nerves, it annoys or irritates you." -- usingenglish.com/reference/idioms
"The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp ... makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. ..."
[I couldn't find an initialism for incandescent lamp, so I made it up: IL.]
"... 22 inventors of [IL's] prior to Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison. ...
Edison began serious research into developing a practical [IL] in 1878. ... [One historian] has attributed Edison's success to the fact that he developed an entire, integrated system of electric lighting. ... [IL's] are gradually being replaced in many applications by other types of electric lights, such as fluorescent lamps, compact fluorescent lamps [CFL], ... and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). ... In the United States, federal law has scheduled [IL's] to be phased out by 2014, to be replaced with more energy-efficient light bulbs."
-- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb
My ready-to-be-recycled GE CFL box states: "They are perfect for hard-to-reach areas or where lights stay on for long periods." (Right you are, GE!
I've heard different times advised, from 20 minutes to one hour.) Yet some folks want to force us to use CFL's in easy-to-reach areas where lights stay on for only 5 seconds or 2 minutes (like a walk-in pantry, for example). Maybe they don't know (as GE obviously does) that it takes a while (I like instant light) and an extra burst of energy to start up those babies. Some people see the amazing equation 13w=60w and hit the campaign trail, maybe because it supports their bigger agenda. I have been replacing many two-bit IL's with expensive CFL's so I can feel OK about leaving some lights on for hours, and I make fewer trips up ladders to replace some others. By the way, my rechargeable LED flashlight works great for 5-second visits to the garage, where the developer failed to add a window for natural light.
It looks like the IL industry will soon be very sick, if not dead, because of decreasing demand and lost economies of scale -- unless government regulation kills it first. I'm for freedom of choice, and I love to have options (I'm thinkin' cruise buffet!) On Friday 4/22 I will share positive thoughts about the apparent obsession with "green" technology and lifestyle, and our personal participation (since the 1980's) in that global pursuit of long-term happiness. May you be blessed with options, and a "green light" to move forward with your own wise choices.
