Requiem for the 100w bulb

I see we're scraping the bottom of the barrel... a thread about light bulbs?

What's next, a discussion on tying your shoes? :)

I thought this was a cozy section to post threads about trivial things? Besides, our government considers it to be "big enough". :laughing-

And nerd me is slightly irked by your disdain for the not-that-trivial technology the replacements of incandescent are. :laughing-

You got me, I'll play along.

Big fan of CFL's myself mostly for the savings on the electric bill. The mercury is troubling though.

This is a issue for a factory in my home town who at one time was the largest incandescent light bulb manufacture in the world. My dad retired from there and my mother worked there for sometime. I worked there for a summer and for a town that only has about 14,000 people it was/is one of the larger employers.

I hate to see them close their doors due to the compact florescent lights, but as a consumer I must say the compact florescent lights last much, much, much longer. I mean I bought my first compact florescent light 9 years ago and it still lights in my children's bathroom as a night light. I mean I do not believe any incandescent light would last 6 months let alone a year but to get 9 years out of a light is well worth the $8 investment I spent in 2003!!!

Thoughts...

So the factory cannot switch over to making the new bulbs.

So the factory cannot switch over to making the new bulbs.

No the factory cannot switch over, it would cost too much money to bring in the equipment and technology for the CFL bulbs...

That's what I don't get. Didn't the company making them have to buy the same equipment? Sounds like a company unwilling to chang with the times and that comes from a person who hates those new bulbs.

No the factory cannot switch over, it would cost too much money to bring in the equipment and technology for the CFL bulbs...

It was looked at at least for General Electric in Winchester. They ultimatley decided it was not cost efficient to retro-fit the plant to produce CFL's.

Also, the company had been wanting to put jobs in Mexico, like every other "american" company.

Our community was outraged. Alot of folks worked at the plant, my great grandmother, grandfather, and father all worked there. My uncle did too. If the plant would have stayed, i for sure would have worked there.

My dad was one of their senior employees there. He and a few other folks were some of the very first people hired when the plant opened in 1975. He was also interviewed in the paper in September 2010 when it closed down.

The "celebrators" are probably in China, although I doubt they are really celebrating. While I'm more ok with offshoring, I am really not fond expanding CFL production since they contribute to mercury pollution. Since Chinese-made products are made with crappy quality control, that means more "duds", which means more mercury being tossed into landfills(most people are too lazy to do proper disposal).

And the Chinese workers themselves are at risk for mercury poisoning. It's a job that not many would covet.

It's interesting you posted this because there are actually now a few senators calling for a ban of CFL's because of the landfill problems. The bulbs have no real safe way to dispose of them. There is a handful of chemicals used in making them that do not biodegrade, unlike the old incandescent lamp. Besides CFL's are dim and they just aren't the same as the old light bulb. I think they will return eventually

That's what I don't get. Didn't the company making them have to buy the same equipment? Sounds like a company unwilling to chang with the times and that comes from a person who hates those new bulbs.I would guess that...
...the labor part of the equation was why. They need to hire guys to take out and dispose of the old equipment, install the new ones, remodel the insides. Why bother when cheaper and less feisty labor is elsewhere.

...Since CFL production is a hazmat hazard, there also might have been extra expenses to ensure worker safety here. They would be able to skimp on those things in poorly regulated countries.

...And of course, the wages and benefits the workers in China get would be far less than what an American worker would be satisfied with.

...Lastly, I'm not sure if they actually do this, but they might buy the equipment in a foreign currency.