4 Reasons to Start Stocking Lightbulbs

Per the 2012 alternative energy act, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) will replace incandescent bulbs, causing headaches for migraine sufferers all over the USA.

Starting next year, the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) will take effect, phasing out all old-fashioned 100-watt bulbs, or electric incandescent lighting, in favor of energy saver compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). For many who oppose the “Incandescent Light Bulb Ban,” the switch to CFLs poses serious health risks. For migraine patients, it means having to cope with another migraine headache trigger caused by eye strain.

1) Curly-Q light Bulbs: How to turn your Kitchen into a Hazardous Waste Dump

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are glass bulbs that contain argon and mercury gas. When stimulated by electricity, activated mercury particles start producing electromagnetic radiation, which in turn emits lovely, violet-tinged fluorescent indoor lighting for your viewing pleasure. Just be careful when handling CLFs- break one, and you become personally responsible for disposing of hazardous waste material. (You already knew mercury was poisonous, didn’t you?) The EPA states that airborne mercury can be extremely hazardous to your health, and advises using the following steps when a curly lightbulb breaks:

Ventilate the immediate area.
Avoid using a vacuum
Gently sweep broken fluorescent light bulb particles into plastic Ziploc bag, or a glass or metal container.
Use duct tape to pick up stray bits of mercury and glass.
Wipe area with disposable wet wipes.
For rug or carpet cleanup, follow steps 1-5, and then finish with vacuum.
Dispose of all contents at your neighborhood hazardous waste collection center. Check Earth 911 for nearest locations.

2) Incandescent Bulbs are Migraine-Friendly. CFLs…Not so much.

Migraineurs are photophobic, ultra-sensitive to bright lighting. For many migraine patients, no amount of suffering compares to having to endure hours of overhead fluorescent lighting at work, school, or in their own homes. Bright track lighting, stark white backgrounds, and black and white stripes cause torturous head pain for most migraine sufferers. Unless makers of incandescent light bulbs meet the new energy-efficient standards enforced under EISA, soft white light bulbs will become a thing of the past. Goodbye warm, soft glow and romantic lighting. Hello, glaring daggers of light beams.

3) Oxidized Mercury and Mutant Fish

Okay, mercury floating around in the atmosphere is perfectly fine and natural, no worries there. But once large amounts of mercury become “oxidized” by sunlight and bromine, that’s when the trouble begins; that’s when it turns to methylmercury, natural mercury’s evil twin. Methylmercury, when ingested by plants and animals, eventually causes the following damage to human beings:

Central nervous system impairment
Heart disease
Damaged immune system
Brain damage in young children, or in utero

4) You Can’t Dim a Fluorescent Bulb

Fluorescent lighting is overly bright; it also doesn’t cooperate with dimmer switches. That’s because the technology for dimming fluorescent bulbs still awaits perfection, while incandescent bulbs easily adjusts to dimmer switch settings. In the meantime, your choices of lighting will include a) brilliant light, comparable to staring directly into the sun or b) total darkness.