Choosing Lights (The Washington Times by Shelley Widhalm)
An artical about the importance of lighting for atmosphere and mood. Notice that they got rid of the fluorescent lights in the kitchen?

Are compact fluorescent lights now brighter idea? (Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/21/06 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Pardon my french but hell no. Grassley; you're a dumbgrass. They last 7-10 years longer but they make people feel like crap for 7-10 years! Sure, let's save on energy and lower quality of life. And Yan's gotta be some sort of creep boasting about his competition being dead. People buy incandescent bulb without thinking?! At least we can think under them unlike those damned flickering flourescent lights! I gotta confess, I wish neurological disorders on people like this Yan guy. He won't be boasting so much after fluorescent lights become known as the next asbestos.

Paint stores, Web sites can match colors exactly (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
Fluorescent lights are deceptive.

Sensory overload leads to bad buzz From CNN.
I can feel those lights flicker too, and it's not a pleasant sensation.

I'm trying to keep adsense from advertising fluroescent lights on an anti-fluorescent blog.

I don't have much for today. I've only found one new article
Injured teen faces long road to recovery by Pat Muir in the Yakima Herald Republic.
It's about a teen, Aaron Saunders, who was hit by a car riding his bike. Unfortunately he wasn't wearing a helmet and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He's lost memories and gets a lot of memories- from before and after the accident- mixed up and he doesn't remember the accident at all. He may never fully recover but his best chances of recovering are to do stuff like reading, do math/logic problems, eat properly and avoid fluorescent lights.

Getting books and stimulating math and logic probalems aren't hard to find. Eating properly is something that everyone should do, few people do but everyone can understand why one would want to. But avoiding fluorescent lights is going to be nearly impossible, those things are everywhere. Just about every store has them, even hospitals have fluorescent lights because they are 'efficient' and people use them to save energy no knowing or just not caring how bad they really are for the people under them.

Sorry, I meant to update this blog more frequently. Let's see what I have for now.

From the Joplin Globe, "This school signal really shines Galena uses grant to buy solar-powered crossing light"

The fluorescent lights in old signals have been replaced by light-emitting diodes, a new technology, he said. The new lights are brighter and use less energy than the old lights, he said. The crossing sign also is a brighter color and more visible, he said.

Lookit that, a light that uses less energy than fluorescent. And is brighter. Hooray for solar power.

net.wars: Cubiclife
Kudos to Wendy M Grossman for figuring out how to get those flourescent bulbs out and successfully hiding them.

And there are some good lighting tips to be found in The Ithaca Journal/Gannett New Services. Illuminate your space: Layered lighting brings a room to life I hate overhead lighting almost as much as I hate fluorescent lighting, and any kind of naked bulb is just plain ugly.

From the Newtown Bee I found an article about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
The SAD Truth: Combating Seasonal Affective Disorder
For dealing with it, one of Dr Hungerman's suggestions was:

"How do you reverse it? Do some exercise, go for a walk," he said. Most importantly Dr Hungerman said, "Alter your light; the worst light is florescent."

For more inf on SAD Check out sada.org.uk.

On a related note I checked out The Healing Power of Light by Primrose Cooper from the library. I haven't read it yet but I'll give a review when I do.

From the NC Times:

Noting that changes in state law will make it illegal for residents to dump common items such as fluorescent lights, alarm clocks, batteries and other electrical devices in their trash.

Can't even just toss the blasted things out.

And in case you missed it yesterday, fluorescent lights contain mercury. (Journal Online, Philipines)

Nice to know that those tubes overhead have poison in them. Be very careful not to break them, and pray they don't leak.

So I started researching for this new blog and came across this article from the guardian, published back in 2002. The articale focuses a lot on prisoners, but it's what my blog is about. Not prisoners but the negative effects of fluorescent lights.

Over in the UK they can see that these fluorescent lights aren't good for prisoners and Michaele Wynn-Jones is speaking against subjecting prisoners to them. Not only do the prisoners and guards suffer from headaches, eye strain, sleep disorders, carbohydrate cravings and depression- the bad lighting may even be contributing to the suicide rates.

But here in America they're in nearly all the stores (I've never been shopping on any other continent than this one but I assume stores in Europe have fluorescent lights too) so innocent shoppers have to put up with them. Most people can tolerate them- though they can trigger migraines and/or make headaches worse. For those like me who are sensitive to light it is pure misery. Can't always see the flickering but can feel it, along with the harsh glare. Trying to concentrate (or care) on what you're there to buy is nearly impossible. I'm lucky if I manage to buy enough good food for a few decent meals by the time I flee the store, most shopping trips to the grocery store end with me hurrying with my basket holding a few boxes of hot pockets and gum to the check out.

For coping the article mentions guards and inmates putting colored cellophane over the lights. Useful if you have to put up with fluorescent lights in your home, or work and your boss allows it. Unfortunately I doubt many stores would allow customers to place cellophane over their lights. This may pose a fire hazard and if the store has a high ceiling the lights are out of reach.

As Wynn-Jones said fluorescent lights were never meant to be used long-term like they are today. People think they're great because they last longer than most lights and use less electricity. But does that make leeches better than fleas because they can hang on longer? Do other types of lighting really cost that much more and is it worth what fluorescent lighting does to people?

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I hope to find and share information about flourscent lights and how to cope with the evil illumination.