Cookaholics Bulletin Board

-Yes, the trouble with box fixtures is that the ballast will heat up. Bad for bulbs, also bad for anything that happens to be nearby if they overheat to the point where they catch fire.
-Our outdoor/sub-zero-defying CF has little trouble in Winter because it is a bug light version (has yellow plastic enclosure which holds in heat) which is further enclosed by the porch light housing itself (which effectively double-insulates it).
-Many CF bulbs only warn you on the packaging with the sentence, "Do not put in trash," or a prohibitory circle over a picture of a trash can, or sometimes only an icon with "Hg" written in it. They're not required to put Surgeon General-type warnings on them, so they don't.
-The statistics quoted for most CF bulbs ("Lasts nigh on forever!") assume that the bulbs are left on for an extended period of time, all the time, every time, and are not switched on and off like...er, light bulbs.
-Incandescent bulbs (including halogens) will last longer when on a dimmer switch, because they are less likely to burn out if brought up to temperature progressively rather than instant-on.
-Halogens give brighter, whiter light, and they give more light (lumens) per watt than standard incandescents, but they get extremely hot (which is why they are used in ovens) and they generate higher levels of UV radiation than regular incandescents (which fades colors and contributes to various cancers). These are the things that make them more like natural sunlight, though. To some extent, LED lighting has the same problems.
-Our everlasting bedroom bulb* is both a halogen AND on a dimmer, so it has both things going for it.

--Geekboy
*New from Wonka Industries! Sales show no signs of slowing!

I get more than enough of this discussion in every day life. Son is an environmentalist. You aren't really recylcing plastic when you use it for garbage. It often splits open or is separtated, and it's light weight allows it to blow around, and usually, for some reason, makes it into the ocean. There is a glob of plastic in the Pacific the size of Texas. Best bet: use shopping bags. I hope that NY soon bans all plastic.

KSS,
I know, but it makes my conscience feel better. I did breastfeed, lol.

There's another one in the Atlantic, mixed in with the Sargasso Sea. This sort of thing is showing up in all 5 Gyres.

--Geekboy