This is what one of my favourite IT web-sites in Britain thinks of Trump's rantings, especially over shower heads!
[theregister.com]
I actually know what he's talking about regarding the lightbulbs: CFLs, compact fluorescent lightbulbs. They contain mercury and its vapor. And here in the USA are not easy to dispose of properly. They are not supposed to be put in the regular trash, but they are. I'm sure many landfills are full of those things, and many of those landfills are not properly lined in order to prevent the leaching of hazardous materials into ground water.
Why use them at all?
LED lamps are super bright, can be selected by a range of Kelvin outputs, from 3,000 (a "warm" light) 4,500 (akin to an incandescent bulb) and 7,000 (a bright white). LEDs also use far less energy, typically only one ninth of the power demand of an incandescent of the same lumens output, or only half the power demand of a fluorescent.
All fluorescent tubes, whatever their shape and size, use mercury vapour to create ultra-violet radiation. The coating on the inside of the tube then fluoresces to create a lower wavelength white light.
The problem of broken and discarded fluorescent tubes goes back over 90 years. It's nothing new. Maybe Donald himself is fluorescing?
I think ou're right about the improper disposal. Thankfully the big box stores, Lowe's and Home Depot will dispose of them properly for you but I'm sure most people don't bother.
I have switched 90% of my bulbs to LED. I'm looking forward to a requirement for LEDs myself,accompanied by education and strict requirements for CFL disposal.
@bingst
I am an LED fan. Even when they were really expensive I fitted my personal office with them 20 years ago, and gradually fitted them throughout my business premises. (I could claim them against tax, of course!)
Nowadays, here in Spain I buy LED bulbs for between 2.00 to 4.0 euros (($2.40 to $4.75) depending on type and rating. A typicall 7.5watt (75 watt equivalent light output) costs €2.75 in a local shop.
My entire, large house (34 bulbs total) has used LEDs for the past 3 years. I have had to change 3 bulbs in that time. One bulb a year among 34 bulbs.
There's no economic argument possible against that!
@bingst Until gradually falling demand pushes up manufacturing costs and therefore their price, at which point there should be a rapid drop. An example is digital cameras. I bought my first one on 1992. It was pretty crappy, but it gave me instantly usable black and white photos for my magazine, thus giving me a competitive edge over traditional photography rivals. Film continued to sell well for many more years, as digital slowly ate into the market, then it reached a tipping point and in only a few years previously expensive cameras were turning up in junk sales and film was only available in specialist shops.
I want to bash his hair with a bat. 170,000 dead and more dying and he's concerned about his f--king hair.