I've got mixed feelings about compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) for a couple of reasons. First, the light quality is poor, and second, they contain mercury. Once broken, the mercury leaks out, contaminating air, water and soil. In California, tossing CFLs into the trash is illegal, but I'm betting most folks don't know that. Even if they do, chances are good they're sometimes tossing bulbs on the sly -- just as they're tossing batteries -- thinking, "Eh. One little bulb won't hurt."
So I don't love them, but I use them. In Folsom, where I live, I can recycle my spent/unbroken bulbs by calling Household Hazardous Waste Service and arranging for pickup, or by dropping them off at Osh, Lowes and Home Depot hardware stores. (I can drop off batteries there, too, and at my local library!)
Check for recycling locations for your own community at the Environmental Protection Agency's website, then follow the links to the state where you live. The world will thank you for it.
Renee Thompson: Writing the American West
City Girl, Interrupted
Photo by Jill Carmel
About Me
- Renee Thompson
- I write fiction set in the American West, and possess an abiding appreciation for our environment and the natural world. My husband recently retired from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and my two daughters are employed in the conservation arena. I live in Folsom, California, and am a liberal married to a conservative. For some reason it works!
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My First Novel
THE BRIDGE AT VALENTINE is due from Tres Picos Press this August. Set in 1890's Idaho, it recounts the story of July Caldwell, the daughter of a sheepman, and Rory Morrow, the son of a cattleman. The men's desire to control the rangeland and their children ultimately deals July and Rory a fatal blow, despite the young lovers' struggle to separate themselves from their fathers' feud. The book's theme -- love, violence, and disputes among families -- demonstrates how trouble comes not from the head, but the heart.
The challenge in writing my book was creating a protagonist willing to oppose her Mormon father to love a Gentile, while conveying the message that women trapped by fate or circumstance always have a choice, but with choice comes consequence -- and sometimes, hope for the future.
The challenge in writing my book was creating a protagonist willing to oppose her Mormon father to love a Gentile, while conveying the message that women trapped by fate or circumstance always have a choice, but with choice comes consequence -- and sometimes, hope for the future.
Photographer in the Making
Steve at Humboldt State, circa 1976. Until I met him, I'd never been camping. Never held an ax in the woods. Now I do both, simultaneously, while standing on one foot. But I still burn the creme brulee.
Website
Alex Rose, an award-winning writer, designed my website (click on pic to go there), and the cover of my book (coming in August 2010!).
Writers, Birders, and Fave Friends
- Alex Rose
- Bird Watcher's Digest
- California Dept. of Fish and Game
- California Rangeland Trust
- Chiron Review
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Jill Carmel
- Kathy Getto
- Lit Park
- Lynn Freed
- Maureen O'Leary: 40 at 40
- Michelle Panik
- Narrative Magazine
- National Audubon Society
- National Wildlife Refuge Association
- One Story
- Pete Fromm
- Ree Drummond
- Rhymes with Bacon
- Sirenland
- Squaw Valley Community of Writers
- The Conservation Fund
- The Peregrine Fund
- Tim Johnston
- Tres Picos Press
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Welcome Friends
Thank you for visiting my blog. When you have a few, please take a look at my website, designed by Alex Rose and programmed by Bryon Grant, two terrific friends.
3 comments:
You might think about moving to LEDs. I have been doing this slowly over the last couple years. They are certainly pricey, but they are more power efficient than CFs, don't have an inherent "flicker" to them, and will likely outlive you barring severe power flux....
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=MR16
Thanks, Robert. I actually have an LED in my bathroom, and it's a dud. Brightness seems to be a problem with many of these bulbs, with the exception of my husband's headlamp (one we camp with), which I guess I can always use while schlepping around the house!
I, too, feel duped by the praises that were sung about CFLs. The only good thing is that I have several years to find a way to dispose of them.
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