Der Light Gestapo

This is so ludicrous that I'm sick to my stomach. I live in a state so chock full of nuts that they want to regulate what kind of light I use. A law is being pushed on me to use a compact fluorescent light bulb in place of the incandescent lights in my house on the premise that it saves money and it is more environmentally friendly.

B.S.

Environmentally friendly? The fluorescent bulb costs more and contains mercury. MERCURY. Where the hell am I suppose to dispose of the thing when it burns out? Oh, right. Right next to the bin of batteries containing mercury that I cannot dispose of except at California approved waste disposal sites. How many people have recycled their batteries? It's difficult to know where I need to go, so there they sit, in an ever growing bag.

California wants to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. So why not convert to nuclear power? It doesn't generate greenhouse gases.

Fluorescent light is ugly, it's not pure white light. Look at photographs taken under fluorescent light (no flash), there's a slight green tinge -- unless your photo processor adjusts it before printing. Personally, I prefer the reddish hues of incandescent. This isn't just about personal preference.

There are indications of adverse health conditions from "over-illumination". That is, we can suffer headaches, fatigue, or mood changes by being exposed to light that differs from naturally occurring sunlight, either in intensity or in spectra (color). Fluoresent lights also flicker, it's like a miniature UV lightening storm. You don't notice because it flickers at a high rate, but have you ever suffered a headache from staring at a flickering computer monitor?

Fluorescent light also causes damage. Pictures and notes at my desk have become faded from exposure. Why is this? Fluorescent lights are essentially ultraviolet (UV) emitters that excite phosphor deposited on the inside of the tube to emit photons (light). This is very much like the way your TV generates light to form images. That stray UV doesn't just bounce around in the tube, it's gotta go somewhere.

I'm more hip to LED lighting, because the color spectra can be more natural and I doubt that LED will cause damage to my pictures. I'd like to point out that LEDs are more reliable and more efficient. When the cost comes down, LEDs will go into my house. THAT is the light of the future.

Fluorescent is not completely unwanted in our household, I do have a few in our kitchen for uplighting, which we use when we don't need a lot of light. I also have had them in my garage. Otherwise, I prefer my incandescent/halogen light when I'm reading or lounging. Sure, it may be more efficient, but my mental health is worth more than the $60/year in projected energy savings.

Hey, California, how about writing some laws that make sense? Butt out of my life and my ability to choose the environment I want to live in.