The great bulb debate
But despite the misgivings of Canadians, using fluorescent bulbs make sense. While more expensive, the new bulbs require 75 per cent less electricity to operate. That saves energy and reduces electricity bills. Generally, lighting accounts for between five and 10 per cent of the total bill.
Based on those arguments, it shouldn't be necessary to ban incandescent bulbs -- in this case by making it illegal to sell them. Clearly, Canadians are tired of governments imposing bans in an effort to mould their behaviour.
Canadians would rather make the choice for themselves, so let them. Governments can encourage consumers to embrace the use of energy-efficient lighting, and they might consider incentives to buy fluorescent bulbs - like foregoing sales taxes. A coupon campaign launched by the Ontario Power Authority, for example, saw more than 2.8 million people try fluorescent bulbs at a discount.
Allowing people to save money by making responsible choices is a better idea than taking away their right to choose.
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Climate change: Greenhouse gas concentrations again break records
LONDON - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says the increase in CO2 was just above the average rise recorded over the last decade.
Levels of other warming gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, have also surged by above average amounts.
Since 1990 there's been an increase of 43% in the warming effect on the climate of long lived greenhouse gases.
The WMO report looks at concentrations of warming gases in the atmosphere rather than just emissions.
The difference between the two is that emissions refer to the amount of gases that go up into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuels, such…
