[TheForge] OT: Government waste

[terry l. ridder]

hello mike;

the Hg poisoning are just further collateral damage to the energy pundits
who would rather we go back to candles and by the candle tax. do not
worry about the thin lead (Pb)  wire in the wick. the Pb vapor will not kill
you overnight it will take several years.

nearly every cfl i have seen and happen to read the fine print on the
bulb itself states that it is hazardous material and toxic and should be
disposed of in a hazard material waste facility.

how many smoke detectors with small amount of radioactive isotopes have
made their way into land fills and eventually into the ground water?
the chicago fire department passes out smoke detectors like candy. do
they ever bother to collect the old non-working smoke detectors so they
may be diposed of properly. well *NO*!

look at through history at the stupidity of mankind in finding new and
inventive ways to kill one and another. many cathedrals in the UK were
built with lead (as in the metal lead) roofs. the rain was collected
which contained lead oxide. it was cooked with, washed with, drank, etc.
people would die from lead poisoning. the people were slow to but two
and two together so they kept going back to the same cathedrals for
comfort which had just poisoned their relative.

the ability of mankind to inflict pain and misery unto itself and the
rest of the animal kingdom never ceases to amaze me.

Hanlon's Razor, is very appropriate for this current cesspool we call
society. stupid people being lead to the slaughter by the same people
who lie when they say "I am from the Government, I am here to help you."


On Wed, 21 Mar 2012, Mike Spencer wrote:

>
> Jeff Wilson wrote:
>
>> [My CFL bulbs] are dim when first turned on and slow to brighten.
>> Many have failed in 2 to 5 years.  At least three have exploded!
>
> And did you clean up the bits with a vacuum cleaner?
>
> That would be the first thought of most people: Get all the bits out of
> the upholstery, carpet, cracks in the floor.
>
> Only that has a multiplier effect on dispersing mercury vapor around
> the house.  Worse, if you don't throw out the disposable bag and
> thoroughly clean out the machine itself, subsequent uses of the vacuum
> cleaner have the potential to further disperse Hg vapor.  For an
> adult, this may make only a small contribution to accumulated Hg but
> for rug rats with greater sensitivity to Hg poisoning, the risk is
> proportionately greater.
>
> I'm surprised that Bruce, who once reproved me for my relatively
> cavalier attitude toward the risk of poisoning from copper sulfate,
> hasn't posted a scare piece on the long- and short-term effects of
> globally distributing hundreds of tons of mercury in milligram
> aliquots to billions of people with no knowledge of biology or
> toxicology (or much of any other science) beyond 6th or 7th grade
> level.
>
> These risks don't even mention the conveniently remote and, to us,
> invisible consequences  to workers and the neighborhoods in China
> where, AFAIK, most of these CFLs are made.
>
> Personally, I think the energy-use statistics may be numerically
> correct but that these statistics are being used to persuade the
> public (among which I count science/technology-challenged
> legislators), stupidly or maliciously, of the truth of putative
> trade-offs and benefits that are are specious.  It's not clear who
> most benefits from mandatory conversion to CFLs but it isn't me and it
> probably isn't you.
>
>
> - Mike
>
>
>  Hanlon's Razor:
>
>  Don't attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by
>  stupidity.
>
>  Spencer's Corollary
>
>  If you find yourself in a position that calls for the application of
>  Hanlon's Razor, you're already screwed.
>
>
>

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>