It’s the gift-giving season, and I see shoppers loading their trolleys with enormous boxes of biscuits. They will give most of these to people who work for them, I would guess. I’m sure the biscuits will be appreciated, but consider topping up that biscuit assortment with a gift that will keep giving for years to come. If someone you know has an electricity bill that eats a significant portion of their budget, consider giving them compact fluorescent globes.
My housekeeper returns to her newly electrified home in the North-West province during the holidays. About a year ago, when she was complaining about that her pre-paid meter there was running down too quickly every time she bought more electricity, I asked how many light fixtures she had in her home. The answer was seven, all of them using 60 watts or more. Since she didn’t have a refrigerator or geyser, these were probably the bulk of her electricity consumption. So last Christmas, I gave her 7 compact fluorescent globes that use just 11 watts each. She claims they made an instant improvement in her electricity expenditures.
Sadly, the very people who can benefit most from such an environmentally friendly technology are often the people whose budgets prevent them from paying more today to save energy in the future. That’s why compact fluorescent bulbs make a gift that is, well, brilliant.
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March 27th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Hi Don, Compact fluorescent tubes contain high levels of mercury. Will find the article and send the link.
http://www.naturalnews.com/021907.html
April 9th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Hi Terry,
Indeed fluorescent tubes do contain mercury, and I won’t dismiss the issue as trivial, but it needs to be put in perspective.
Coal-burning power plants are the largest contributor to mercury emissions. In the U.S., they are responsible for about a third of the mercury released. Since coal accounts for less than half of U.S. electricity generation and about 90 percent of South Africa’s electricity generation, it’s safe to say that more than half of all mercury released in South Africa comes from Eskom.
Therefore, it is easy to understand why many independent experts say that CFLs reduce more mercury over their lifetime than their disposal will contribute. For examples, you could look at http://www.nwcurrent.com/efficiency/5266341.html, http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/05spr/asknrdc.asp or http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/home_journal_news/4217864.html
For an expert’s view on the health issues of having CFLs with mercury in your home, read http://environmentaldefenseblogs.org/climate411/2007/07/31/cfl_mercury-2/
The web page you have read is not by an independent expert, but by someone in the business of selling globes that compete with CFLs. I believe that much of his information is inaccurate.
That said, mercury is a serious poison and we should all try to reduce our contribution to mercury pollution in any way we can. Batteries are a very large source of mercury, so you should only buy watch batteries and alkaline batteries that are mercury free. (Recyclable batteries are even better, of course)
In buying CFLs the best recommendation is to stick to major international brands such as Osram, GE and Philips. They have to comply with EU standards that allow no more than 5 mg of mercury in a globe. Osram CFL’s have 3.5 mg according to their technical marketing manager in South Africa, Wally Wilmans. Cheaper brands may have more.
If a fluorescent bulb breaks in your home, don’t get out the vacuum cleaner, read this: http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#disposal. There is no way to recycle CFLs in South Africa currently, but Eskom has a working group tasked with this issue. CFLs last so long that before the bulb you buy today burns out, even Eskom may have come up with a plan.