COMMENTARY Practicing common sense - and safety too!
Chris Meyers General Manager, Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives
t’s the nature of most Oklaho- mans to practice using common sense. Your electric coop- eratives in Oklahoma recognize that, and try hard to promote not only common sense energy-saving tips, but safe energy use as well.
I Take the issue of us-
ing compact fl uorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in your home. Everyone knows that CFLs use less energy and last longer than standard incandescent bulbs. However, some people have a concern about the use of mercury in CFLs.
There’s no need to worry.
The amount of mercury inside the glass tubes of an average CFL is extremely small – about the equivalent of the tip of a ballpoint pen – and it’s especially small when compared to other items used around the house.
For example, a glass fever thermometer could contain nearly 100 times more mercury than the amount found in a CFL (500 milligrams compared to four or fi ve milligrams in a CFL). An old-style thermostat could contain up to 3,000 milligrams of mercury – more than 600 times that of an aver- age CFL bulb.
J. Chris Cariker President,
Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives
his is the third article in a se- ries describing proposed Environmen- tal Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory poli- cies. If fully imple- mented, these policies could raise the cost to generate electricity by millions of dollars. On July 6, 2010, EPA issued its proposed Clean Air Transport
T
Rule (CATR) to replace the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which was struck down by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and remanded back to the EPA in 2008.
The proposed rule would require 31 Eastern and Midwestern states and the District of Columbia to curb emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from power plants. According to EPA, by 2014, the rule, along with other state and EPA ac- tions, would reduce power plant SO2 emissions by 71 percent over 2005 levels, and power plant NOx emissions would drop by 52 percent. The CATR would establish state-by-state emis- sions budgets for NOx and SO2 and would allow limited interstate emissions trading, but unlimited intrastate trading among power plants. The rule
4 OKLAHOMA LIVING
The fact is, CFL bulbs are safe to handle and use in your home. Even if you happen to break a CFL bulb, the amount of mercury that may become air- borne poses a very low exposure risk. There are no federal or state requirements that CFL bulbs be recycled. Some hardware stores and retailers have CFL recycling stations in their estab- lishments, making it easy for proper and safe bulb disposal.
But since common sense and safety go hand-in- hand, here are some suggestions that might be fol- lowed when considering the best – and safest – way to dispose of CFL lightbulbs:
✓ For burned-out CFLs: put the bulb in a sealed plastic bag, then place it with your regular trash.
✓ For broken CFLs: to be completely safe, open a window or door to disperse any vapor that might escape.
✓ Carefully sweep up the glass fragments with a broom – don’t use a vacuum sweeper – or your hands! It’s about common sense, remember?
✓ Lastly, put the fragments and the base of the
broken CFL bulb in a sealed plastic bag, and place it with your regular trash.
CFLs are a great idea. They help you reduce your electric bill, and they can help your Co-op reduce the need for additional electric generation. Just use them safely, and dispose of them using common sense. OL
Third of “Big Five” EPA regulations: Clean Air Transport Rule
also includes three new states: Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Emissions reductions will begin to take effect very quickly – in 2012 – within one year after the fi nal rule is fi nalized. (The fi nal rule – known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, or CSAPR, was released by the EPA on July 6, 2011.) Where we stand:
✓ Our national association, NRECA, fi led com- ments on EPA’s CATR, stressing that the modeling – and thus the CATR proposal itself – failed to con- sider existing emissions controls and resulting costs of generation when allocating emission allowances. NRECA is also concerned about the stringency and timing of the rulemaking, especially considering the 2012 - 2013 compliance periods.
✓ NRECA did not support any of the EPA allow- ance allocation options presented in the CATR rule- making process. All of the options presented numer- ous impossibilities for unit compliance, and did not recognize different emissions characteristics and re- duction capabilities based on unit fuel sources and unit types.
✓ Cooperatives support sensible multi-emission legislation that can reduce power plant emissions more quickly and economically than continued regulation under current law. NRECA believes that Congress should enact legislation that will address these objectives while balancing America’s energy, environmental and economic needs. OL
Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives
Chris Meyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .General Manager J. Chris Cariker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President Glenn Propps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Vice-President Joe Harris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Secretary-Treasurer
Staff
Sid Sperry . . . . . . . . . . . . Director of PR & Communications
sksperry@oaec.coop
Anna Politano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Managing Editor
editor@ok-living.coop
Larry Skoch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Advertising Manager
lskoch@ok-living.coop
Christy Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Offi ce Manager
cjohnson@oaec.coop
Kirbi Bailey . . . . . . . . . . . . .Accountant/Offi ce Manager Asst.
kbailey@oaec.coop
Emilia Buchanan . . . . . . . . . . . . Communications Assistant
ebuchanan@oaec.coop
Hayley Imel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intern
intern@ok-living.coop
Editorial, Advertising and General Offi ces
P.O. Box 54309, Oklahoma City, OK 73154-1309 Phone (405) 478-1455 Oklahoma Living online:
www.ok-living.coop
Subscriptions
$3.12 per year for rural electric cooperative members. $6.00 per year for non-members.
Cooperative Members:
Report change of address to your local rural electric cooperative.
Non-Cooperative Members: Send address changes to Oklahoma Living, P.O. Box 54309, Oklahoma City, OK 73154-1309.
Oklahoma Living (ISSN 1064-8968), USPS 407-040, is published monthly for consumer-members of Oklahoma’s rural electric cooperatives by the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives, 2325 E. I-44 Service Road, P.O. Box 54309, Oklahoma City, OK 73154-1309.
Circulation this issue: 317,140. Periodical postage paid at Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives is a statewide service organization for the following electric cooperatives: Alfalfa, Arkansas Valley, Caddo, Canadian Valley, Central Rural, Choctaw, Cimarron, Cookson Hills, Cotton, East Central Oklahoma, Harmon, Indian, KAMO Power, Kay, Kiamichi, Kiwash, Lake Region, Northeast Oklahoma, Northfork, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Ozarks, People’s, Red River Valley, Rural, Southeastern, Southwest Rural, Tri-County, Verdigris Valley, and Western Farmers Electric Cooperative.
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