Ends and odds, 3/9/07

I can't let this one pass. The Legislature on Thursday approved a bill earmarking up to $4.3 million a year for the intermodal facility at Prichard. That's the place where container shipments can be transferred from rail to truck or vice versa. The part I like is that disbursement of the state funds depends on a favorable outcome of a feasiblity study to be conducted on behalf of the West Virginia Public Port Authority.

The port authority, remember, is the body that kept paying consultants to say the regional airport would be feasible long after those same consultants kept shrinking the project to give it no advantage over existing airports with the possible exception of location.

So, what do you think this feasibility report, which could come out in August, will say?

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I was at home the other night thinking about various things, and I remembered how Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia has a zero-landfill policy. It sends nothing to landfills. In preparing for that, it even sent a person to Tennessee to look at the place where it was sending its burnt-out fluorescent light bulbs. Toyota wanted to make sure the mercury from the lights was being recaptured and not escaping into the environment.

Then I thought, oh, no, what about. . .

So a little while ago, I found this from the Des Moines Register of March 7. Think about this the next time someone gives you tips on preventing global warming and saving Planet Earth. . .

Switch to more efficient light bulbs, but beware

The Environmental Protection Agency is encouraging Americans to replace incandescent light bulbs with more energy-efficient ones. The most recognizable of these are the swirly-shaped, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) with an Energy Star label. According to the EPA, if every American home changed out five light bulbs with the more energy-efficient type, the country would save about $6.5 billion per year in energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from more than 8 million cars.

Making the switch seems like a good move for the environment.

But there’s a catch.

The bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, a toxin dangerous to the environment and especially dangerous to children. That means when the bulbs burn out, they shouldn’t be tossed in the landfill.

“Hold on to the CFL as you do paint cans and batteries, and bring to the next hazardous waste collection day in your area,” Enesta Jones of the EPA wrote in an e-mail. The EPA suggested visiting www.lamprecycle.org to find local recycling options.

I had made the switch because I was so tired of changing the incandescent bulbs. Now what to I do?

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Hey, men. To stay healthy, slim and alert in your old age, eat chocolate now.

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I'll be writing some next week about science education in this area. Until then, take a look at what Bill Gates says about the topic nationally.