One thing the parliamentary system is good for is complaining. For example - Canadians are not too sure that the new energy-saving light bulbs that will become mandatory by 2012 is such a hot idea. The feedback from Canadians to the federal government is almost unanimously negative.
Here's some of the issues that the populous raised:
- Didn't like being forced to make the change
- Argued the new bulbs wouldn't fit their lamp shades
- Worried about more mercury being released into the environment
- Brought up major health concerns
The main emphasis for migraine sufferers is on "health" part of the debate.
"A lot of people in Canada cannot tolerate bulbs which cause health problems such as migraine headaches, and people with bad photophobia like me have an 'extreme' problem being around them," wrote one person.
Another wrote: "It is common for migraine sufferers, epileptics and persons with autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) to experience ill effects from fluorescent lighting." Some people "will have to wear sunglasses in their own living room."
Somehow, there's not a lot of public outrage about the mandated switch to CFL this side of the border. Just like Canada is planning to do, US will stop the sales of incandescent light bulbs in 2012. So, unless you are OK with that additional headache trigger, make some noise; write your congressman or slip a question to a presidential candidate.
Some of them might relate to our problems. Hillary Clinton is addicted to hot papers - does it mean she have a chronic headache? Senator McCain is a war vet, he's bound to have some familiarity with post-traumatic migraines. Not so sure about Barack Obama but he does look sympathetic to other people's sufferings.
One way or the other, we'd better do something about mandatory CFLs in our homes. While there's still time.
link: Canadians not crazy about new energy-saving lightbulbs
related articles: Flicker-free light bulbs still cause migraines
Green Crowd - we'll flash some light in your eyes; it's OK, it has energy saving bulbs
2 comments:
We should indeed be protesting early and often! This is liable to drive migraineurs more and more into the dark - and for a technology that may use less energy but is environmentally destructive in other ways - high mercury levels! Surely we can do better than this!
- Megan Oltman
www.meganoltmanfreemybrain.typepad.com
Megan, I agree. Complaining should be something we are good at, wouldn't it? There's around 30 million of us in the US alone; we are one of the largest minorities, so to speak. And yet we don't seem to have achieved much, even on fundamental issues such as this one.
We really need to step it up a notch...
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