Bureaucrats run amuk

Can you think of a better title for this?

Can SC save the incandescent light bulb?

South Carolina lawmakers are taking steps to save the incandescent light bulb. The odds of their plan working may be slim, but for lovers of good old-fashioned light bulbs (especially for those in nearby Waxhaw), this is good news. From a Heritage article:

Fed up with the federal government’s ban of the traditional incandescent light bulb, state representatives in South Carolina are pushing for the state to produce and use incandescents solely for its state.

The Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act, which unanimously passed South Carolina’s Senate panel, would allow South Carolina manufacturers to continue to sell incandescent bulbs so long as they have “Made in South Carolina” on them and are sold only within the state.

Besides the light being not so inviting, the longevity of the new-fangled CFLs hasn't quite lived up to claims. I've had a couple of them fail fairly quickly.

Which leads us to the second problem - disposal of old bulbs. The mercury inside these bulbs makes for a tedious disposal process -- that is, if you choose to follow the EPA recommendations. For a detailed list of steps in properly disposing of CFL bulbs, go here.

But to give you just a taste, here's the pre-cleanup steps:

Before Cleanup

* Have people and pets leave the room, and avoid the breakage area on the way out.
* Open a window or door to the outdoors and leave the room for 5-10 minutes.
* Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning (H&AC) system, if you have one.
* Collect materials you will need to clean up the broken bulb:
- Stiff paper or cardboard
- Sticky tape (e.g., duct tape)
- Damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces)
- Glass jar with a metal lid (such as a canning jar) or a sealable plastic bag(s)

And God forbid the bulb broke in a carpeted room. If so, here's what the EPA recommends:

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rugs: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

* The next several times you vacuum the rug or carpet, shut off the H&AC system if you have one, close the doors to other rooms, and open a window or door to the outside before vacuuming. Change the vacuum bag after each use in this area.
* After vacuuming is completed, keep the H&AC system shut off and the window or door to the outside open, as practical, for several hours.

I'm not sure if these speaks more to the dangers CFLs pose or sheer ludicrousness of government agency proposals. Seriously, who would follow all these steps? And if they're essential for safety reasons, why would anyone buy these CFL bulbs? Other than the fact that the federal government will soon be forcing us to.

By the way, in other news, German scientists did some research recently and here's what they found:

Their report advises that the bulbs should not be left on for extended periods, particularly near someone’s head, as they emit poisonous materials when switched on.

Peter Braun, who carried out the tests at the Berlin's Alab Laboratory, said: “For such carcinogenic substances it is important they are kept as far away as possible from the human environment.”

The bulbs are already widely used in the UK following EU direction to phase out traditional incandescent lighting by the end of this year.

But the German scientists claimed that several carcinogenic chemicals and toxins were released when the environmentally-friendly compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were switched on, including phenol, naphthalene and styrene.

Andreas Kirchner, of the Federation of German Engineers, said: “Electrical smog develops around these lamps.

“I, therefore, use them only very economically. They should not be used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head.”

Who wouldn't want to fill their houses with these glorious light bulbs? Mental note: remove bulbs from kids' room and bedside reading lamps.

I'm rooting for South Carolina in this case.

New Waxhaw Gazette out

John's put out a new issue of the Waxhaw Gazette.

Check it out to see early details on the upcoming 4th of July festivities, more tales of animals running amuk to go along with my peacock sighting, in this case a grey fox; and shameful copper thieves hitting a Habitat for Humanity house among other things.

Dinner hours @ Main Street Grill

I was lucky enough to be in town for lunch the other day, so I took the opportunity to coerce my youngest to eat at the Main Street Grill so I could grab a burger.

The lure of McDonalds is a strong one. But my powers of persuasion (enhanced greatly by the ability to make the MSG or home argument) were successful and we ate an early lunch at the MSG before heading into the office.

On another note, they will be open once again next Friday evening (for June's First Friday event), so if you're looking to sample from a limited dinner menu (including burgers) then you best find your way to First Friday.

I briefly spoke with Josh at SpringFest asking about the potential for dinner hours. And while on Facebook they suggested they'd begin dinner hours on the weekends sometime thisspring, it didn't sound like they were anywhere close to happening with summer around the corner.

It sounds like they would need to hire a new cook before it happens. I got the impression there was nothing brewing on this front. My fingers are crossed of course.

Peacock!

Driving home from a baseball game tonight, we spotted a peacock between Helms Road and the kennel on Waxhaw-Marvin Road.

A real live peacock was walking down the sidewalk with no one around.

Is the only logical explanation that someone around here has one as a pet?

My wife didn't seem to believe my oldest as he relayed our amazing tale, but she was convinced enough that she called Waxhaw police (read animal control) minutes later in case they wanted to check it out.

Not because peacocks are dangerous, but you never know what a cornered peacock might do if there's no other options.

Historic district guidelines reviewed

I mentioned in March that I planned to review the approved historic district guidelines. Well, I finally got a few minutes of free time to do so, buttwo weeks later, still had not found the time to transcribe my notes to this blog.

But since I never got around to posting them and since the historic district overlay failed to pass, I plan to take a pass on writing them up. Thanks to Commissioners Blythe, Gregory, and Lane for saving me some valuable time.

Belated March & April 2011 Crime Reports

I've put up late crime reports before, but not this late -- my last one was in February. At this point, I've decided it's best to just include March and April in the same post and be done with it.

And with a little luck, I'll post May's next week.


In the meantime, here's March's.


And here's April's.