# Obama wants to ban Lava Lites! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019 "2011-07-14T15:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/21 "2011-07-14T19:46:44Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > So visible light might travel further – out of windows, etc. – before becoming heat, but still does eventually? It’s not too much of a lie to restate the second law of thermodynamics as, “any energy you’re using for any purpose whatsoever ends up as heat”. The only way out of it would be if one of the photons from your light gets out a window and into space and just happens by luck to not hit anything ever, but as a practical measure you can just assume that it’s all becoming heat. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/22 "2011-07-14T19:58:57Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > Incandescent bulbs are not banned despite what the Republicans keep saying. The law merely requires them to be more efficient. Thanks to ingenuity in the private sector (yay free market) a couple of companies have come out with halogen bulbs that are drop-in replacements for regular incandescents but meet the efficiency requirements. [These](http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/New+Products/HALOGENSuperSaver/) bulbs from Sylvania are an example. I believe that colored bulbs are exempt from regulations, so for your lava lamp or easy bake oven where the color may not be so important you could always use one of those if it needed to be exactly 60 W. Thank you. You’ve saved me the trouble of having to post this all over again. Brian Williams of NBC, who should know better, continues to propagate this myth. It really pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/23 "2011-07-14T20:35:10Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Bizarre to think that in some applications a light bulb is a heat generating device that produces a lot of waste light. And yet **Little Nemo** , HP’s very first product the _[HP200A](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP200A)_ used a light bulb as a feedback element. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/24 "2011-07-14T20:41:34Z")
Wonderful. The government’s solution to foreign oil is to ban light bulbs. Wouldn’t they save a whole lot more by banning NASCAR racing? ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/25 "2011-07-14T20:53:46Z")
The so-called “light bulb ban” bill was signed by George W Bush in 2007. **Not Obama.** > **[Light bulb ban riles up lawmakers](https://money.cnn.com/2011/07/11/news/economy/light_bulb_ban/index.htm)** > > The so-called light bulb ban, set to begin in 2012, has become a rallying point for conservatives, libertarians, and various free-market activists who deride what they see as unnecessary government interference in the marketplace. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/26 "2011-07-14T20:56:39Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > Wonderful. The government’s solution to foreign oil is to ban light bulbs. > > Wouldn’t they save a whole lot more by banning NASCAR racing? Assuming this is not a whoosh of some kind: 1. The government has not banned incandescent light bulbs. 2. Even if it had, this would have next to nothing to do with dependence on foreign oil. 3. Do you think there’s no significant energy usage associated with any professional sport other than NASCAR? ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/27 "2011-07-14T21:01:35Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > Wonderful. The government’s solution to foreign oil is to ban light bulbs. > > Wouldn’t they save a whole lot more by banning NASCAR racing? No. NASCAR’s fuel consumption during a year is about two million gallons. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/28 "2011-07-15T02:37:44Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Assuming this is not a whoosh of some kind: > > 1. The government has not banned incandescent light bulbs. > 2. Even if it had, this would have next to nothing to do with dependence on foreign oil. > 3. Do you think there’s no significant energy usage associated with any professional sport other than NASCAR? My Rabid Republican sister goes through periods where she hounds the hell out of me to stockpile incandescent bulbs as they have been or are about to be banned by Obama. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll send her your post. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/29 "2011-07-15T02:59:39Z")
What about Easy-Bake ovens? Obama hates little girls. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/30 "2011-07-15T03:24:50Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > What about Easy-Bake ovens? > > Obama hates little girls. Why do you hate post #5? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/31 "2011-07-15T03:42:02Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > What about Easy-Bake ovens? > > Obama hates little girls. On the other hand, I’m not sure the line “Obama likes little girls” would come off any better. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/32 "2011-07-15T03:43:55Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > My Rabid Republican sister goes through periods where she hounds the hell out of me to stockpile incandescent bulbs as they have been or are about to be banned by Obama. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll send her your post. I’d be honored. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/33 "2011-07-15T04:26:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Bizarre to think that in some applications a light bulb is a heat generating device that produces a lot of waste light. Some German guy is trying to get around EU regulations by [selling incandescent bulbs](http://heatball.de/en/) and claiming that heat is the primary function. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/34 "2011-07-15T04:31:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Bizarre to think that in some applications a light bulb is a heat generating device that produces a lot of waste light. It’s not all wasted. You need some of it to see the floating goo. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/35 "2011-07-15T07:33:51Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > My daughter received an easy-bake oven for Christmas that cooked things with _ice_. You mixed the cake mix with warm water and then pit it in the oven which was first stocked with ice cubes. The chilled air caused the “cake” mix to solidify into a cold, sweet, vaguely cake-like flavored piece of foam-like material. As good as it sounds. I’m puking already. Almost as much as before I tasted the lightbulb Easy Bake products that took days to cook. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/36 "2011-07-15T07:39:36Z")
For lighting the stairwells used by Native Americans to come down from the Andean heights, you _need_ an Incan descent bulb!! _\_ ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/37 "2011-07-15T09:59:36Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > No. NASCAR’s fuel consumption during a year is about two million gallons. I assume that’s just from the racecars. If you factor in all the fuel consumed by the spectators (who mostly drive SUVs, pickups, and RVs), you would save several times that. You could save even more by banning football. Not that I’m advocating banning either sport. But even if you did, people would just find other forms of entertainment so there’d probably be very little fuel saved. I have no idea why this was brought up. Requiring more efficient lightbulbs will save electrical energy, but virtually none of that is produced by burning petroleum products. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/38 "2011-07-15T13:05:05Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I assume that’s just from the racecars. If you factor in all the fuel consumed by the spectators (who mostly drive SUVs, pickups, and RVs), you would save several times that. You could save even more by banning football. Not that I’m advocating banning either sport. But even if you did, people would just find other forms of entertainment so there’d probably be very little fuel saved. Without NASCAR races, those folks would still drive _somewhere_, even if it’s only to the 7-11 to hang out with their engines running. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/39 "2011-07-15T14:26:38Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I’d be honored. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/40 "2011-07-15T14:34:22Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > On the other hand, I’m not sure the line “Obama likes little girls” would come off any better. Obama lives with a couple little girls. And I hear he’s married to a black chick. And that he used to live with a white woman he wasn’t even married to! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019.md?page=3)