Poll: Thoughts on the Phase Out of 40 & 60 Watt Light Bulbs

The environment is an area I’ve written about before, including energy use and lighting. If you haven’t been paying attention, you may be in for a shock:

Starting Jan. 1, the U.S. will stop manufacturing and importing incandescent light bulbs in favor of ones more energy-efficient.

The phase out started with 100-watt and 75-watt incandescent light bulbs in 2012 and 2013. The last phase out will include the 60-watt and 40-watt. (Source)

Stores may sell their current inventory, the government is slowly forcing us to switch to more efficient lighting choices. Before you blame President Obama, he was just a Senator when the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush.

Now that we’re at the final stage of the incandescent bulb phase out, I’d like to know your thoughts so the poll this week is: 40 & 60 watt incandescent light bulbs on store shelves are the last ones, thoughts? 

I’ve provided a variety of answers but I’ve also given you the option to enter your own answer. The poll is in the right sidebar.

— Steve Patterson

The 2014 St. Louis Auto Show

At the 2014 St. Louis Auto Show, which continues 10am-10am today and 10am-5pm tomorrow (link), I saw a number of things that stood out to me: technology & trucks. Let’s start with trucks.

The compact pickup segment has disappeared, only a few mid-size trucks remain. Ram and Ford have exited the market, for now.

This got me wondering how a midsize truck of today compares to a full size truck from 43 years ago so I prepared the chart below:

Downtown I see parking lots filled with the trucks of construction workers. For the most part the tools they need fit in the toolbox they have in back, few seem to be used for hauling material to/from job sites. Light duty trucks are a big seller every year because many people use them like cars.

Too soon to know if this new pair will cannibalize sales of Chevy/GMC’s full size trucks or take share from the Toyota Tacoma & Nissan Frontier. The diesel in 2016MY may get some buyers to downsize.

Speaking of diesel trucks…

These trucks, like most cars, are better equipped than even luxury cars of just 10-15 years ago. Sunroofs, heated leather seats, back up cameras, etc.

Remember back when cars had one cigarette lighter you’d take out to plug in a charger? We noticed many cars had multiple USB ports, including many in the rear as well. These days everyone seems to have a smartphone which means a family of four needs four USB ports to charge up on the road. Those in back can watch something on the entertainment system while their phone charges.

I’m glad to see the manufacturers are coming up with so many ways to increase fuel economy so they can meet increasingly stringent standards. The show runs today and tomorrow.

— Steve Patterson

Downtown YMCA Partially Reopened After Pipe Burst

The downtown YMCA partially reopened on Monday the 20th after being closed for 10 days. A couple of postings on their Facebook page explains: 

January 10th: 

The Downtown Y is closed until further notice due to a water main break. We are assessing the situation and will be able to update with details today. We apologize for the inconvenience. Other local YMCAs will welcome you during this time. We will be rescheduling more Fitness On Demand Orientations next week.

January 16th:

The facility is undergoing emergency cleanup due to a fire sprinkler system break that occurred as a result of last week’s subzero temperatures. Generators are currently being used to power equipment that is helping the cleanup happen quickly and safely. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our neighbors and assure the community that we are working through this process as quickly as possible, with as little disturbance as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we work through this unavoidable issue.

It was the generators on 16th Street that got my attention:

Presumably the 7 upper floors with 100 apartments, vacant since 2007, have been winterized. If so, the burst pipe was in one of the 3 floors of the YMCA.

— Steve Patterson

Cordish & Cardinals Correcting ADA Mistakes At Ballpark Village

Last September I wrote how Cordish & Cardinals Failed To Plan for Pedestrians at Ballpark Village. I had immediately informed city officials after I spotted some violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July, they were unaware of the issues until I pointed them out.

On January 19th I noticed this corner looks a bit different:

I’m not sure who screwed up originally but the fixes aren’t cheap. This is just another example of pedestrian work done poorly/incorrectly in St. Louis, with almost no oversight.

Eventually I hope the owners, contractors, architects, and engineers on these projects will learn how to do things right, or at least hire someone that does, to make sure they’ve got it right before the concrete is poured.

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Missouri Should Fully Legalize Marijuana

Marijuana is everywhere, in the news, these days:

With a majority of Americans now in favor marijuana legalization, President Barack Obama is now saying weed is no more dangerous to individuals’ health than alcohol. (Huffington Post — Obama: Marijuana No More Dangerous Than Alcohol)

This is a blazing moment for American stoners. Colorado has just legalized the commercial production, sale, and recreational use of marijuana, while Washington State will begin its own pot liberalization initiative at the end of February. On Jan. 8, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state would join 20 others and the District of Columbia in allowing the drug for medical purposes. (Business Week – Legal Weed’s Strange Economics in Colorado)

To be sure, ending prohibition won’t singularly eliminate the underground market or end racism in law enforcement. But it is a constructive step toward those goals, especially considering the aforementioned White House ad correctly acknowledging that marijuana isn’t egregiously dangerous. Sure, the government’s “safest thing in the world” line may have been an overstatement – but it was certainly closer to the truth than all the fear-mongering about our decision to embrace reefer sanity here in Colorado. (Salon – Reefer sanity takes hold in Colorado)

New York is one of the only states in the Northeast without a medical marijuana program. Gov. Andrew Cuomo was opposed to medical marijuana, and attempts to create a law have failed to get through the state Senate for years. Now Cuomo has reversed himself, proposing a medical marijuana research program run under exacting federal guidelines that would be the most restrictive in the country.(NPR — New York’s Medical Marijuana Experiment Begins With Caution)

News articles will continue on the topic as more states legalize medical & recreational marijuana, Illinois Dept of Health released draft medical marijuana rules yesterday. What about here in Missouri? 

Thirteen initiative petitions related to the legalization of marijuana and hemp products were approved for circulation by Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander Wednesday, clearing the way for voters to decide on the issue during the November 2014 election.

For marijuana legalization to make the ballot, petitioners have to get enough signatures to account for eight percent of the total votes cast in the 2012 governor’s election from six of the state’s eight congressional districts. (KSDK)

The advocacy group Show-Me Cannabis submitted the petitions for approval but hasn’t yet determined if they’ll work to collect the needed signatures:

But before we launch a full campaign, however, we must assess whether likely 2014 voters will pass any of these measures at the ballot box in November. For that reason, we are hiring a firm to conduct scientific polling on the official ballot language approved by the Secretary of State. Polling is most accurate when respondents are presented with the specific question as it would appear on the ballot, so that is why we could not conduct this polling earlier.

We hope to receive results of the poll by the beginning of February, and if around 60 percent of likely 2014 voters surveyed say they will vote for our measure, we will very likely pursue a campaign this year. 60 percent is considered to be a very safe benchmark because even if support decreases somewhat by Election Day, which is common with initiatives, it will still pass. I am optimistic that the polling will show strong support, but that hunch needs to be tested scientifically. (Show-Me Cannabis)

The weekly polls here are not scientific, but since the same poll last April support of full legalization jumped from 53% to 63%!

From these results it appears increased full legalization support comes from the legalize medical/decriminalize recreational camp. It’ll be interesting to see the scientific polling of likely Missouri voters. Other states will likely have medical or full legalization on their November ballots.

Why am I so interested? Several reasons: prohibition on marijuana doesn’t make sense from a law enforcement, policy, health, or economic perspective. With the latter — the “green rush” is creating new opportunities, employing people, etc.  For full disclosure: about 14% of my portfolio is comprised of marijuana-related stocks: (CANV, CBIS, FSPM, GRNH).

— Steve Patterson