Newsmax - Study: Energy-Saving Light Bulbs Can Cause Skin Cancer

Energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs popular among environmentalists are harmful to skin, researchers at a New York university have found.

Phosphor coatings on the bulbs wear off, the study from Stony Brook University on Long Island reported in the study published by in the journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology.
 
The scientists, led by Miriam Rafailovich, collected CFL bulbs from across Long Island to measure the amount of UV the bulbs gave off. They were alarmed thow many of the bulbs' phosphor coatings were lacking, causing them to leak significant levels of UVC and UVA.
 
“Our study revealed that the response of healthy skin cells to UV emitted from CFL bulbs is consistent with damage from ultraviolet radiation,” said Rafailovich.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Study: Energy-Saving Light Bulbs Can Cause Skin Cancer

$50,000 bonuses for Solyndra employees?

Just when we thought we’d seen the last of Solyndra, the poster child for the Obama DOE’s reckless and wasteful ‘green jobs’ plan that essentially amounted to government bureaucrats playing venture capitalism with taxpayer money.    But the Solyndra saga is far from over, in fact, the bankrupted company is asking the courts to grant hefty bonuses to dozens of employees:  

  Yes, I’m certain that American taxpayers who are worried about their own jobs and struggling to put food on the table will sympathize with workers at a failed solar panel company’s need for “motivation.”

http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/11/bankrupt-solyndra-seeking-to-pay-bonuses

Bankrupt Solyndra seeking to pay bonuses

Court’s OK sought for ‘incentive plan’

By Jim McElhatton

The Washington Times

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Now seems an unlikely time for handing out bonuses at bankrupt Solyndra LLC, but that’s the plan of company attorneys intending to dole out up to a half-million dollars to persuade key employees to stay put.

Nearly two dozen Solyndra employees could receive bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 each under a proposal filed by Solyndra’s attorneys in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

The attorneys say the extra money will add motivation at a time when workers at the solar company have little job security and more responsibilities because so many of their colleagues have been fired.

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Obama's favorite wheels ranked "3rd worst product" of 2011

You’d think that $230,000 in taxpayer funds per car would at least buy us a decent vehicle…
 
From Yahoo! Finance’s list of the ‘Worst Product Flops of 2011”:
 

3. Volt
Company: General Motors

GM (GM) was originally so excited about the Volt that the company had announced in January it was speeding up its roll-out by six months. But by November the excitement had fizzled out. Larry Nitz, GM’s executive director for vehicle electrification told Reuters, “It’s naive to think that the world is going to switch tomorrow to EVs [electric vehicles].” Indeed, sales for the vehicle have been consistently low. Only 125 models were sold in July 2011. This was after GM spokeswoman Michelle Bunker was quoted as saying that the Volt was “virtually sold out” due to its popularity — a statement later shown to be misguided. Adding insult to injury, Chevy Volts are under investigation for fires involving the cars’ lithium-ion batteries. For concerned Volt owners, GM has offered free loaner cars.

How are the mighty fallen. 
 
Remember the rosy predictions back when the Obama administration was pouring millions of taxpayer dollars into developing the Volt?  It was going to be the car that would change the world
 
In August 2009, the Huffington Post gleefully reported:
 

General Motors Co. is touting the 230 mpg figure following early tests that used draft guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency for calculating the mileage of extended-range electric vehicles.
 
The EPA guidelines, developed with help from automakers, figure that cars such as the Volt will travel more on straight electricity in the city than on the highway. If drivers operate the Volt for less than 40 miles, in theory they could do so without using a drop of gasoline.

 
Well THAT didn’t happen.  So, to summarize, not only did the Chevy volt fall far below fuel economy predictions and sales projections, the car also catches on fire.
 
Here’s an idea: let’s keep the government – and above all this administration – out of the business of picking winners and losers in the private sector.