David’s wrong, you will have to replace everything if you ever want to sell your house. On top of the traditional home inspection for termites, radon, etc., you will have to go through a federally mandated energy audit – there’s a career suggestion for you! – and if your residence isn’t up to code you won’t be able to close without buying new appliances or writing the cost of upgrading into the contract.

Actually, an energy audit is a good thing to do if you want to save on your utility bills, but I hate the idea of the government sticking it down our throats. And Mike Castle voted for it.

I use a lot of compact fluorescent lamps because they are cost effective. They do not live up to their advertised life expectancy. Who keeps receipts for such items and who has taken any back for a refund or replacement? Yet there are applications where they should not be used, such as areas of high humidity. Stick with incandescent.

They also contain a minute quantity of mercury and some lapse into the chicken little mode when one is broken. Hysteria over mercury is greatly overblown and if one gets broken, throw out the pieces. No one will ask and you should not tell.

But should we relegate control over every aspect of our life to some commissar who is likely to be a hack retread?