South Carolina Fires The First Shot.....Again

The government of South Carolina is firing the first shot again in the "war against federalism".

They are inviting any company to come into their state and open up an intrastate incandescent light bulb factory. it seems that they have a problem with a federal mandate that people buy a certain product. (One that will have enormous environmental impact in the years to come. Where are the freaking tree huggers now ?)

The other problem I have with the CFL's is that they are only made in China, (they don't have a silly government agency like the EPA, which would scream bloody murder if they were made here), so here we have a law that mandates us to buy light bulbs from a country that owns most of our debt. (Nothing fishy about that is there ?)

We need more states to step up to the Federal Bureaucracy. This insanity coming out of the federal government now is crippling our economy, our country and more importantly, our children's future.

The Bureaucracy must expand.... to meet the needs of the Bureaucracy.

Oh and just a Safety Reminder should you break one.
The following information is straight from the EPA's official web site.

Cleaning Up a Broken CFL
What to Do if a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulb or Fluorescent Tube Light Bulb Breaks in Your Home: Overview
These tips also apply to other mercury-containing bulbs, including:

* Other fluorescent bulbs, including linear, U-tube and circline fluorescent tubes, bug zappers, tanning bulbs, black lights, germicidal bulbs, high output bulbs, and cold-cathode fluorescent bulbs;
* High intensity discharge bulbs, which include metal halide, ceramic metal halide, high pressure sodium, and mercury vapor;
* Mercury short-arc bulbs; and
* Neon bulbs.

Broken CFL
Related Information

* Why is it important to take these steps? Learn more about CFLs and mercury.
* Find out how to recycle and dispose of a CFL after it burns out
* Tell others: download and print a brochure about CFL
o safe clean up and
o recycling (2 pp., 869K)
español (876K) (about PDF)

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. When a fluorescent bulb breaks in your home, some of this mercury is released as mercury vapor. The broken bulb can continue to release mercury vapor until it is cleaned up and removed from the residence. To minimize exposure to mercury vapor, EPA recommends that residents follow the cleanup and disposal steps described below.

This page presents only the most important steps to reduce exposure to mercury vapor from a broken bulb.

► View the detailed recommendations.

► Download and print a three-page PDF version of this overview and the detailed recommendations (91K, about PDF) | en español (30K, about PDF)

1. Before cleanup
* Have people and pets leave the room.
* Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment.
* Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one.
* Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb.

2. During cleanup
* Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.
* Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

3. After cleanup
* Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.
* If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.