Bush the Jacobin

Bob's friend Francois (U. Montreal) had an NYT Op-Ed this week comparing President Bush, and his Administration, to the Jacobins of revolutionary France.

Definitely worth a read.

Fluorescent bulbs considered wasteful

Consider the rap that is currently being given to ordinary, incandescent light bulbs (by groups including one co-recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize): They're so wasteful, 90% of their energy goes into heat instead of light! Replace all your bulbs with compact fluorescents - you will be helping to save the Earth and, on top of that, your electricity bills will go down enough to pay for the new bulbs 10x over by the time they wear out!

All true, of course... unless you heat your house. If you heat your house, then the "wasted" heat from an incandescent bulb isn't wasted at all - instead it, umm... heats your house. Replacing incandescent bulbs with more-costly fluorescents may make you feel better, but for those months when you have the heat on, your electric bill will not decrease one iota - nor your carbon footprint.

Something to think about, especially for those living at high latitudes...

(N.B. This point is not original with me, but I forget where and how I first saw it made.)