THE REAL PROBLEM IS

Powerful centralized government powers

As if all the “CZARS” being appointed by Presidents in recent years were not bad enough, all of the agencies and departments within the federal government also continue to get more powerful with each administration.

The EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) is an agency of the federal government charged with protecting human health and the environment.  They were suppose to just enforce regulations based on laws passed by Congress, but have now gone far beyond that.  (They decided CO2 was toxic and a hazard.) They are now one of several agencies this administration is using to bypass Congress.  This agency has approximately 18,000 full-time employees.

Then there is the Department of Energy which has never produced and energy.  The DOE was created by President Jimmy Carter, and now has over 16,000 full time federal employees and approximately 100,000 contract workers.

Jimmy Carter, the worst president in U.S. history until recently, was faced with double-digit inflation, domestic and foreign policy failures, and a fuel shortage so severe that drivers would actually get into fights if someone dared to jump the gas lines that stretched for numerous city blocks.

In an attempt to bring order, in some cities drivers had to buy gasoline on alternate days according to odd or even numbers on their license plates. In addition to the shortage, gasoline prices skyrocketed as well, in turn contributing to double-digit inflation.

Eventually, the Secretary of Energy included the nation’s nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy conservation, energy-related research, radioactive waste disposal, and domestic energy production to the department’s list of government responsibility.

DOE is today involved in more basic and applied scientific research than any other US federal agency. It is President Barack Obama who unveiled a $26.4 billion budget request for DOE for fiscal year 2011, including $2.3 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

As with any government entity, the DOE is constantly growing in size and power. For example, a new regulation will impact every single household in the nation in the coming months.

Under the new law to be enforced by the DOE, all light bulbs must use 25% to 30% less energy than today’s products by 2012 to 2014. The phase-in will start with 100-watt bulbs in 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70% more efficient.

Incandescent bulbs were invented over 120 years ago, and environmentalists claim they could be replaced by many superior technologies if only the right regulations and financial incentives were put in place.

The alternative to the incandescent bulb is the Compact Fluorescent Lamp. However, they present their own environmental problems.  Their biggest drawback is the fact that they contain mercury. That must contain mercury to work.  The mercury vapor reacts to electricity to produce the light.  Unlike Carbon dioxide, Mercury really is a toxic hazard.

With rare exception, there is no safe way to dispose of these bulbs. They are ending up in landfills and lots of them are broken. The mercury will be seeping into the ground and our water supplies.   I wonder what the EPA thinks about this.   Truth is, it would be more beneficial to ban the CFLs rather than the incandescent.  Truth is, the real future in lighting will be the new LED bulbs, however, they are still a bit pricy.

Following America’s lead, over 30 countries (including the members of the European Union, the US, China and Australia) have had a look at the available lighting technologies and decided that the case for the banning of domestic incandescent light bulbs stacks up.

Radical environmentalists in Britain claim the UK’s ban of incandescent bulbs will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 2-3 million tons. Similarly the EU’s annual emissions will be reduced by 23 million tons. Meanwhile, the Chinese government’s decision to stop manufacturing 70% of the world’s incandescent light bulbs will reduce the world’s annual carbon emissions by even more, according to some environmentalists.

But it’s the United States that is setting the standards for the world when it comes to environmental issues and Republicans in the White House and in the legislature appear ready to go along with the wishes of militant environmentalists.