I use them as many places as possible in my home. However they don’t work in a lot of places because they are longer than a standard buld. So fixtures that have globes or enclosures they don’t always fit into.
And although I haven’t tried it, I’ve heard they don’t work well outdoors in freezing temperatures.
The UK simply leaves tractor fuel (DERV) untaxed and dyes it red so the customs men can dip for it.
An amusing anecdote overheard in an office I worked in once. A farmer’s wife was stopped and her fuel tank dipped, it came up red meaning the car would be seized and impounded. Called her hubbie to explain and he came down to pick her up in his jeep. In a rare display of ingenuity, the customs folk dipped his tank too, finding red diesel inside. Both husband and wife had vehicles seized and were left at the side of the road 
Same thing here in the USA. “Dyed Diesel” is not charged most “highway use” taxes for the rather simple reason that farm machinery doesn’t use the highway.
Thus diesel fuel is “subsidized”, and as has been pointed out, so are “low wattage bulbs”.
Yup, Q.E.D., the OP was talking about those…
CFLs are somewhere between $2 and $13 a bulb here. I’ve moved (almost) my whole house over to them recently, so I’ve been looking around a lot. Rona’s bulbs (Globe brand) are cheapest, with 60W equivalent coming 6 to a box for $14 on sale, and outdoor security flood-lights most expensive at about $13 or so each. They don’t come on instantly (needs a second or so from cold start), but have a huge variety of bulbs, from chandelier to flood to spot to everything. If you keep the receipt, they’re guaranteed for 5-7 years.
CostCo here carries only three types (brand Luminous), but they come on instantly. I use their spot model in my track lighting and love it. They also have a ~5yr guarantee.
IKEA has their own re-branded type, and are the most expensive around here. They are the only ones to carry uber-small reading-lamp style fluorecents though.
I think the OP just has outdated info on North American CFL prices. And I’d recommend everyone switch over; Alberta has some of the lowest electricity prices around at 8.9c/kWh, but I’m still saving hundreds a year in electricity, which doesn’t include the cost and inconvenience of buying and replacing burnt-out incandescents every 6mo. or so.
The wave of the future will be LED’s I am guessing, but right now they are even more expensive that CFL’s used to be.
Ive had bad luck with “lights of america” branded CFLs. They have brass rivets making contact with aluminum bits in the base. This connection seems to fail in a depressingly short amount of time. (less than a year usually)
Right. I remember a Consumer Reports story of a few years ago on CFL bulbs. About all I remember is that they rated the Lights of America brand significantly below the rest.
I use CFL bulbs in my front porch light and the light over the garage door. These are left on 24/7 and I haven’t noted any problems in winter (-10°C to -40°C). Although perhaps there are problems when turning them on in the cold?
Looking at some bulbs over at lightbulbs.com some CFLs have an operating range down to +5F to -20F.
As you might guess, the cheap ones have the highest min temp.
Perhaps because I always took the meaning of subsidized as money given from the government, not simply cutting back on taxes.
You think big ugly trucks when you hear ‘diesel’, I think of clean, powerful sedans with great MPG, great torque and acceleration.
Modern diesel engines emit slightly more CO2, than gas engines, but in all other aspects, they’re cleaner, due to diesel particulate filters.
Also, having a car with a diesel engine, makes it easy to switch to BioDieasel (rapeseed oil).