Template Letter SUPPORT the INCANDESCENT BULB

Template Letter -- SUPPORT THE INCANDESCENT BULB

Date -- --

Dear Senator/ Representative/Media ------

We urge you to repeal the incandescent light bulb ban slated to take effect September 2012 under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. Contrary to popular perception, the incandescent ban is not a green solution to the global energy crisis. The ban is an infringement on our freedom to choose how we illuminate our homes and our lives. Far worse is the CFL bulb mandated to replace the incandescent. The CFL is a blatant health hazard, unsafe for the environment, and far less energy efficient than reported. Facts include:

• CFLs contain mercury, a toxic heavy metal that can cause severe neurological damage, even fatality. Exposure is especially dangerous for fetuses and children. A broken CFL will release dangerous mercury vapor into our homes. Shattered bulbs must be disposed with extreme care.

• Mercury is harmful to the environment. The 3.5–6.0 milligrams of mercury contained in a single CFL bulb is enough to taint 6,000 glasses of drinking water. A single gram of mercury will contaminate a 2-acre pond. The cumulative effect of billions of improperly disposed bulbs piling up in our landfills and leeching into our water supply bodes ill for the future of our environment.

• CFLs give off electro-magnetic fields. The jury is still out on the effects of exposure to EMFs, but there is evidence for concern.

• The energy used along with the CO2 and mercury emitted into the air in the manufacturing of the ballast and transformer component in the base of the CFLs, plus the energy expended in importing the bulbs from China, cancels out any purported energy usage savings from CFLs.

• The barrage of statistical data used to support the incandescent ban and its impact on the global energy crisis is convoluted, subjective, and easily misconstrued. Far greater results could be achieved by implementing energy savings measures in a myriad of other possible industries.

Please make consumer well -being and freedom of choice a top priority – ahead of corporate profits. The incandescent bulb is safe and cost effective compared to newer, more complex, less known, questionably safe alternatives. If the ban is implemented, our government, the Department of Energy and our National Laboratories will have effectively joined forces with the lighting industry to form a cartel. There is no anti-trust protection from a law that threatens to destroy the environment and denies us the fundamental right to choose how we light our lives.

We urge you to examine the evidence and vote No on the ban.

Signed: ______