Green in the news #3

Here are just a few articles I’ve read lately with a little added commentary 😉

Incandescent light bulb phaseout.

The congressionally mandated efficiency standards gradually phase out Thomas Edison’s 131-year-old creation in favor of other light bulbs that use at least 25% less energy. The first to go, beginning Sunday, is the traditional 100-watt, followed in January 2013 with the 75-watt version and in January 2014 with the 40-watt and 60-watt bulbs.

Quote from an artical by By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY

My Opinion:

I’m cool with this, the only incandescent bulbs we have in our house are the dimmable kind, we tried the CFL dimming bulbs umm they are a joke. But other than that we have CFL or another more green bulb in each light fixture. I understand the initial cost is more but they really do last longer so it will work out cost wise. It stinks when you need to replace 4 at once though

Image from www.earthsfriends.com

GM has made the Volt ‘even safer”

General Motors is advising Volt owners to return their electric cars to dealers for repairs that will lower the risk of battery fires.

The company hopes that, by adding steel to the plates protecting the batteries, it will ease worries about the car’s safety. Three Volt batteries caught fire after government crash tests last year, prompting a federal investigation and sending GM engineers scrambling to find a fix.

Quote from and artical By DEE-ANN DURBIN and TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writers  

My Opinion:

This is sad, I think it will scare people out of buying ANY hybrid/electric car. Plus when I first started reading articles on this I thought the problem was found in actual accidents not crash tests, that needs to be made VERY clear when talking about this issue. I thought people had died!! I hope this fix is able to redeem the peoples opinions of hybrid or electric cars because it is a great step forward in this gas guzzling country.

Rio gears up for ‘green’ fireworks show

This year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks on Rio’s famed Copacabana beach, an event expected to draw nearly two million party-goers, will have an environmental theme, officials said Wednesday.

Press reports said the elaborate firework display would seek to represent solar energy, flora and fauna as well as the wind and optimism.

From Yahoo Green News

 

My Opinion:
Umm how did this even make the green news?!?! I decided to include this because it was so crazy. Yeah lets blow up 24 tones of fireworks and dedicate it to being green by having the fireworks represent, solar energy, flora and fauna and wind umm what?!?! This is just craziness I bet it looked just like every other firework show. Maybe bigger or longer but not greener. Oh and by the way “Fireworks can unleash a shower of toxins into soil and water, and scientists are only beginning to figure out what that means for human health,” writes Russell McLendon on Mother Nature Network, umm yeah.