To arms, ecologists!
It's time to denounce the scandal of crappy ecological light bulbs.
Promoted as environment-friendly energy savers, they unfortunately fail to live up to their promise.
They provide poor quality light (so poor, one often has to install a second light nearby).
They take ages to light up (so cannot safely be used for stairwells).
And now, according to yesterday’s New York Times, we learn that they often are so defective they don’t work at all!
Add to this a price which is calculated for a product that lasts ten years, and you have one of the biggest ecological scams of the decade!
Manufacturers, what’s going on?
Is this just another case of taking advantage of environmentalists? Of cheating people who care about the planet hoping they won’t notice?
We installed compact fluorescent light bulbs all over the house, only to wonder: where had all the light gone?
If your experience is anything like ours, contact the manufacturer, consumer associations and ecological organisations as well as your representatives.
We cannot make progress saving energy if corporations are allowed to supply us inferior quality eco-products at inflated prices. Are they doing it on purpose?
Site du Ministère de l'Ecologie
Links
Energy Saving Trust for the ‘energy saving recommended’ label: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk, 0800 512 012
Greenpeace light bulbs campaign: www.greenpeace.org.uk/climate/light-bulbs, 020 7865 8100
Lighting chapter in “How to live a low-carbon life: the individual’s guide to stopping climate change”, Chris Goodall, ISBN: 978-1-84407-426-6
www.treehugger.com/design_architecture/lighting/ for discussions on low energy lighting
