14 October 2009

Let There Be (Dim) "Green" Light.

Go figure. After left-wing busybodies got incandescent light bulbs banned in Europe, Australia, and the US - because us rubes can't be trusted with making the choices our left-wing elites want us to - us rubes have started hoarding those very same incandescent bulbs. (Note: The story is from Australia, not the US. Our ban doesn't kick in until 2012.)

Villa RSR is already starting to do it's hoarding part, and will lay up a tidy stockpile before the US ban kicks in. Why? Two reasons: First is principle. I am a free citizen. No one has the right to force me (or others) by Law to live by their moral choices. If I opposed Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson trying to tell me how to live my life back in the 1980's, why should I accept Al Gore and Carol Browner doing it now? And second: Today's compact fluorescent (CF) bulbs, the left-wing's "green" alternative - heck, the only alternative we'll soon be allowed... suck. CF bulbs are slow to light, dimmer than incandescents, more expensive than incandescents, the light temperature is all wrong, and they seem to burn out almost as fast as incandescents (we've replaced several in under six months).

If the technology were at a point where CF bulbs were truly competitive with incandescent bulbs, there would be no problem. The market would take care of this as people (including your humble blogger) chose the better product. Just ask makers of 8-tracks and VHS tapes. But our self-appointed moral superiors don't trust us, or the free market, so they feel compelled to force their choice upon us for our own good. How long will it be before we have to contend with a "green" version of this organization?

UPDATE 15OCT09: Yet another example: In California, banning TVs deemed "too big."

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