Blog: Comments from WSB Listeners to Today's Show

Added May 6, 2007 by Ilyce Glink

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Here are some of the emails that were sent to me this morning. If you'd like to comment on the show or suggest other topics you'd like us to discuss, please post them here:

5/6/07 Comment: I just heard part of your show talking about savings resulting from replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent (an action I heartily endorse). The conversation seemed to get hung up on whether the oil equivalence savings were 'real'. Consider- if the nation made a wholesale switch to fluoro, the coal or gas-fired electricity that is 'freed up' as a result, could be re-deployed to power electric cars - that would certainly be a real savings in oil. Coal and gas fired plants don't need to be carbon-dirty - there are not-so-new technologies readily available for scrubbing power plant emissions to significantly reduce their carbon output. The real issue isn't about oil per se, our dependence on oil is only a symptom of the real problem - energy usage. The greatest threat to America's national security ultimately comes back to the extreme amounts of energy (per capita) used and wasted in the US. Anything that saves/reduces/conserves energy is a move in the right direction. As an Australian in Atlanta, I'm proud that my country is taking a lead and setting an environmental/economic example in many ways - only one of which is the incandescent/fluoro issue. (I was going to post this on your forum, but I didn't see an 'Environment' topic heading :-)

And, another comment:

Ilyce, one of your callers stated that compact fluorescent light bulbs are not dimmable. They indeed do make a dimmable version: www.buylighting.com/Dimmable-Compact-Fluorescent-s/113.htm

And, another comment:

Compact fluorescents are all well and good, and I'm using a few, especially in the fixtures I have trouble reaching, but what about when they burn out (to say nothing of if you break one)? They contain mercury, after all. There was one recent report of someone who broke one when trying to install it in her daughter's bedroom and ended up with the EPA or some similar agency requiring environmental hazardous waste disposal procedures to the tune of a couple thousand dollars. Not terribly economical! And the very last thing most of us need is another item we're not supposed to put in the regular trash!

And finally:

After listening to your Sunday radio program on miniature florescence bulbs I'm very happy that someone finally informed you to the dangers and proper disposal of the product. This is not the cure-all for energy saving that you profess because of the dangers to landfills and humans due to the mercury content in these bulbs. Someone in your position w/ public media access should be better informed when preaching the virtues of a product. I would suggest you leave that up to Consumer Reports. A concerned listener. Bob H.

May 6, 2007.

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