Everyone should be using compact fluorescent bulbs. Except we’re not — and that’s despite these bulbs saving electricity and preserving the thing that really matters: the environment.
This is the thing: saving the planet is still a hard sell, even though it shouldn’t be. And so is saving money on power.
Why? Because, as Seth says, these bulbs have a story problem. They look weird and are still quite expensive.
But there’s one more reason: people don’t just buy light. They buy atmosphere. They buy coziness.
And, as far as I can see, these bulbs give off a cold, blueish hue.
They make my skin look bad.
So until compact fluorescent bulbs look like regular bulbs — in every way — they won’t become ubiquitous.
And that’s a big shame because as we, here in Canada at least, bask in a crazy-warm January, we need to do what we can to cut down on greenhouse gases.