Lightbulb ban threat to health

The EU ban on traditional lightbulbs will put people's health at risk, warns UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom.

The ban on traditional light bulbs begins on September 1 with 100-watt bulbs being removed from shelves and the rest will be phased out by 2012.

Mr Bloom said: "They have had no regard for people's right to choose and absolutely no concern for the terrible impact this will have on those with light-sensitive health conditions.

"Time and time again we watch with despair as the EU churns out legislation with unintended consequences - and here we go again.

"We are being bullied into this in the name of climate change but what about the mercury contained in the new energy saving bulbs. I have no doubt that the issue of their disposal has not been given proper consideration."

People who are light sensitive suffer because of the emission of ultraviolet and the blue part of the visible spectrum. Tests by the Health Protection Agency has shown that the new compact fluoresent bulbs (CFLs) emit both.

"These types of bulbs should carry a health warning similar to cigarettes," said Mr Bloom, MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

"A whole range of illnesses are involved including lupus, psoriasis, eczema, porphyria, migraines, ME, epilepsy and autism.

"I have been told that adverse effects include nausea, burning sensations, rashes, lethargy, swollen joints, anxiety and genetic damage.

"Nearly all public buildings, including hospitals, and the majority of workplaces are lit with these types of lights which means that sufferers are unable to live a normal life.

"And if a proposal to change street lighting from amber sodium to white fluorescent tubes goes ahead it will mean sufferers will be unable to go out in the evening. This will make them prisoners in their own home.

"There maybe only a small percentage of the population affected but they have the same rights as anybody else under the Disability Discrimination Act and are entitled to access to any public building."

A bright idea - lightbulbs go green

197/09 On 1 September the EU starts the mandatory phase out of 100W and frosted incandescent (or old fashioned) lightbulbs.

This new legislation to cut wasted energy and high electricity bills was agreed by EU Member States last December with support of the UK.

The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to cut down energy-inefficient products which cost people more money to run and are bad for the environment as they have higher carbon emissions.

A voluntary initiative to phase out old fashioned bulbs started in 2007 with the keen support of a number of UK energy suppliers and retailers.

Environment Minister Dan Norris said:

“We can no longer rely on light bulbs which waste 95 per cent of their energy as heat. We are glad the EU has put this measure in place to stop the waste of energy and money from old fashioned high energy bulbs. The UK has had a successful voluntary initiative in place for a few years, and now the rest of the EU will follow suit on a mandatory basis.

“This is great news for people who will pay less in electricity and even better news for the planet, as this will amount to 1 million tonnes of saved CO₂ per year by 2020. ”

Energy efficient bulbs now come in every size, shape and design, with dimmable versions and bayonet and screw fittings. The technology in low energy bulbs has improved greatly and now the variety and choice is there for every household or business.

TOP 10 LIGHTBULBS MYTHS

Aren’t they expensive?

Energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) have come down in price and will continue to do so. Some new CFLs are available at similar prices to old fashioned bulbs (50p in some shops). Energy efficient lamps save money, up to £3-6 per lamp per year according to the Energy Saving Trust, and so the pay back can be seen in months. They also last longer so you don’t need to buy them as often. Halogen ‘look-alike’ bulbs are now available to fit in standard sockets, though these lamps do not last as long as CFLs and only offer a 25 – 40 per cent of savings compared to traditional bulbs.

They don't fit all fittings.

Yes, they do. Lamps are now much smaller than previous CFL ones, and come in very similar sizes and shapes to incandescent lamps. They come in all bayonet and screw fittings now. Where fittings are really small, halogen ‘look-alike’ lamps are available, although these do not offer the same energy savings. Dimmable versions are also available.

They don't last as long as I thought

CFLs should last longer than incandescent lamps, though towards the end of life they fade over time rather than blow. Under EU legislation there will be a minimum guaranteed lifetime.

They take ages to warm up and give off dull light

Many lamps come on instantly and no lamp should come on later than a second or two after flicking the switch. The light now is flicker free as although CFL bulbs used to operate at mains frequency (50Hz) they are now designed to operate at 1000 times that frequency. The light is bright and clear and test conducted by the Energy Saving Trust suggest that the majority of people cannot tell the difference between the light of a new CFL and an incandescent bulb.

They won't save me money

CFL low energy bulbs save 80% energy compared to an old fashioned bulb. According to the Energy Saving Trust this can be £3-6 per lamp off your energy bills.

I can't recycle them

All local Councils provide recycling facilities for CFLs and some retailers will take them back. Councils are looking at what they can do to make it easier to recycle these bulbs. With all new products the end of life recycling can take a while to become widespread, but this is happening now and being taken very seriously by local and national government.

Haven’t there been health concerns?

EU health experts concluded that there is not enough evidence to suggest that modern lamps can aggravate epilepsy or migraines, but Defra and DoH have worked really closely with groups representing those with specific sight and light-sensitive skin conditions to minimise any adverse effects from the use of CFLs.

They contain mercury.

The evidence shows that the amount of mercury in lamps is less than the mercury that would be otherwise released into the atmosphere by coal-fire power generation to produce the energy used by an incandescent lamp. The mercury cannot escape from an intact lamp and, even if the lamp should be broken, the very small amount of mercury contained in a single, modern CFL is most unlikely to cause any harm. Safe disposal of a smashed bulb is on our website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/products/lightbulbs.htm.

Getting rid of old fashioned light bulbs limits my choice

CFL bulbs are not the only ones on the markets. Halogen bulbs that fit into standard lighting sockets will remain on sale too although these lamps don’t save as much energy as CFLs.

I will need to change all my light bulbs as a result of these measures

No-one will be forced to change their light bulbs, or their fittings, and retailers will be able to sell on existing stocks. The EU measure, under the Eco-design for Energy-using Products Framework Directive restricts the manufacture and import into the EU of 100W and frosted incandescent lamps from 1 September, with a phase out of lamps of lower wattage by 2012.

Time for smokers' action, says Bloom

EU plans launched today intending to ban all smoking in public places, including beer gardens, parks, festivals and the like were greeted by disbelief and a call to action from Godfrey Bloom MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

“Enough is enough,” said Mr Bloom. “Today six pubs will close in the UK. Part of our culture is under threat and now is the time to say enough is enough. These jumped up puritanical dictators must be told where to get off.

"Nobody pretends that smoking is a good thing, but it is legal. So why don't they come clean and announce an outright ban? Because they daren't. Making 12 million Britons criminals overnight might be gong a little too far even for them. But making them second class citizens, well it seems that is no problem.

"These bullies seem to have no truck with freedom, liberty or tolerance. Well, in that case we shall have to take it back. And if that means a certain level of civil disobedience, well, so be it.”

The EU has call definition of a public place is 'all places accessible to the general public or places for collective use, regardless of ownership or right to access. It is further recommended that “indoor” (or “enclosed”) areas be defined to include any space covered by a roof or enclosed by one or more walls or sides, regardless of the type of material used for the roof, wall or sides, and regardless of whether the structure is permanent or
temporary'

The Commission's proposals can be found here.

(BERR) UK stands firm on working time opt-out

Brussels talks on the EU Working Time Directive broke up in the early hours of this morning without agreement, with the UK successfully resisting pressure to accept the removal of the right to opt-out of the maximum 48-hours week.

A meeting of the EU's Conciliation Committee was unable to resolve differences between the European Parliament and member states over whether to retain the opt-out or not.

The UK and other countries held firm against a European Parliament amendment to the Working Time Directive that would have phased out the opt-out in three years.

Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden said:

"We have said consistently that we would not give up the opt-out and that continues to be the case.

"We argued that everyone has the right to basic protections surrounding the hours that they work, but also the right to choose those hours.

"Choice over working hours has operated successfully in the UK and in other Member States for many years.

"In the current downturn it is more important than ever that people keep the right to put more money in their pockets by working longer hours if they wish. We refused to be pushed into a bad deal for Britain."

Talks will now be reconvened for later this month, although it will clearly be a challenge to bridge the gap between Member States and the European Parliament.

Brown the Saviour Takes Message to God from The EU

Well....not only is Gordon Brown a financial genius but he is now to be regarded as a political svengali as well having united the EU on the issue of the "global recession and is taking its message to Obama in the US. What a load of old tosh!!!

EU member states by the sound of it are far in fact from being united with a rift opening up between Western and Eastern Europe and the French doing what the French always do in a crisis (or at any other time for that matter) and looking after the French interest, in particular its car industry. However states reputedly agreed that they do want better regulation, action on the shadow banking system and hedge funds, no protectionism, fiscal and monetary stimulus and no maintainence of the old status quo on the role of our financial institutions.

Our man Brown says that he will be taking a clear message to Obama when he visits him that "Bold global action, a global grand bargain, is not now just necessary but it is vitally urgent to deal with the challenges of the world economy".

Now...call me crazy but the only clear message I am getting from what has been reportedly discussed in Europe last weekend is that Europe wants lots of altruistic things but doesn't have a clue how to go about getting them by themselves. Not only this but we are about to send the architect of our own domestic crisis to the US with his cap in his hand to ask for a solution on behalf of Europe to the "global problem".

Call me crazy, but I'm not too sure that the best way to solve the current financial situation is to go and ask the new kid on the block in global politics for advice. On the up side, at least Bush has gone otherwise we would probably end up invading another Muslim state in the name of salvation for democracy and capitalism (I wonder by the way if Sadam Hussein is jumping up and down in Hell, saying smugly to everyone, "See! I told you all my system was better").

It will be interesting to see what the political outcome of this meeting of minds in terms of a solution to the problem. It would be nice if it were a bit more that somple reassurances and gratuitous solidarity for the sake of the cameras. It would be nice to think that we could maybe come up with a real global solution and not one where everyone signs up except the US and the UK. In reality however, the US like China and India are not bound by the conventions and restrictions of the EU and they are naturally likely to want to protect their own interests far above all others. That is after all what made these countries economic giants in the first place and will maintain their status for generations to come.

If Europe wants to survive and retain any status as an economic power, it will have to start looking out for its own interests as well and it may even need to be done on a country basis opposed to a union basis. What might be needed to stimulate growth is a reduction or even suspension of EU regulation which has hampered local, regional and national economies since the EU came into being.

What will be just as interesting about this meeting is of course what kind of relationship Brown and Obama will actually have. Will it be one of master and subordinate like Bush & Blair? Will Brown manage to alienate himself from the US president by going in on the first meeting with his hand out asking for help? Will the two become the next "odd couple" and save the world? What is clear to me though is that nothing possitive comes from this meeting then it should be time for a change at the top.