Strange New Light Bulbs
About the Author
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." ~ Mark Twain
Stephen DePasquale was born and raised in Rhode Island. He is a member of the class of 2010 at Roger Williams University studying Journalism with a double minor in Architecture and Creative Writing. His passions are music and video editing. He has been playing guitar since he was a sophomore in high school, and currently dabbles in blues and rock. His main involvement in Planet Forward was filming and editing video. He had a hand in creating some of the music, but for the most part he salvaged a couple of the videos that were destined for damnation and made them work in a creative and fun way. Steve is also the editor and camera operator for the student-run video news program, “The Feed.” He is also a co-chair of the Presidential Student Ambassadors, involved in admissions as a tour guide, and a Student Admissions Assistant. His dream is to end up working in the film industry as a producer.
About This Video
We interviewed Loren Byrne, professor of biology at Roger Williams University, about the benefits of switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) from incandescent light bulbs.
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8 comments for "Strange New Light Bulbs".
1. mercury concerns
KellySwapp and others concerned abut mercury,
Your comments about mercury are accurate and LED bulbs are definitely the next generation of even more efficient light sources. However, unfortunatley we're not there yet; LED's are even more expensive than flourescent bulbs for which the price has come down dramatically over the past year. (I even saw a buy one get two free sale on them at the local grocer.)
In the meantime, the switch to flourescent bulbs is an important step to take despite the mercury. Did you know that mercury is released into the air when coal is burned? This is a much more serious concern as is much of the other toxic chemicals in our homes. Using the mercury excuse to not make the switch is an invalid argument. The benefits far outweigh the costs.
Also, many places like Home Depot are now setting up recycling collection bins for the CFL's. As with any product, becoming an educated consumer is essential.
2. Strange new lightbulbs
Terrific. I've never seen or heard anyone anywhere compare the amount of heat given off by an incandescent bulb vs. a new green bulb. A very simple and clear ecological/money-saving concept for everyone to grasp.
3. Fluorescent bulbs are toxic
Unfortunately, these bulbs contain toxic mercury. If you break one in a store, the EPA must come with a HAZMAT crew to clean it up. What is going to happen when all of these bulbs enter the municipal waste stream? A better solution is LED lights which use even less energy and don't contain toxic materials.
4. Light Bulbs
Excellent presentation!
5. Catchy!
A catchy and educational video that clearly communicates a simple solution for saving energy. Love the green screen theatrics!
6. Entropy!!!
Awesome job breaking it down, Steve. Yeah Dr. Byrne!!! Way to show how pointless old lightbulbs are because of how much entropy they give off! This video should win the RWU contest: "All we've got on the planet is all we'll ever have." True life.
7. go CFL!
Why waste all that energy as heat with incandescent bulbs? It's such a simple task to switch and we all should.
The two headed lamp of science is awesome!
8. Great work, Steve! I like
Great work, Steve! I like the effects from that green screen background!
-JD