There is one possible problem, however. The white light, though it looks the same, is very different from what illuminates our sunlit meadows, moonlit beaches, and the galaxy’s billions of planets. Should this matter?
Some evidence reveals that light affects health. For example, two independent epidemiological studies show that breast cancer is strongly correlated with women whose lifestyles deprive them of nightly darkness. The mechanism appears to be melatonin blood levels, which are normally low by day and high by night. Exposure to light, any light, suppresses the nocturnal production of melatonin by the pineal gland. In people who work night shifts or whose job or home location keeps them illuminated around the clock, the body never gains normal melatonin levels. Bottom line: Sleep in a dark place. If you live in a bright city, close those curtains.
So light can powerfully affect us. Which brings us back to the CFLs. They save energy. But they bathe us and our children, who are now surrounded by this light at school and at home, with a concoction nature produces nowhere in the universe. Astronomers, of all people, can see this firsthand.
Health consequences may not show up for decades. And there may be no deleterious effects when all is said and done. (LEDs are better; though they emit negligible infrared, they give off a greater range of colors than fluorescents.)
Our bodies evolved over millions of years exposed only to full-spectrum lighting such as sunlight, starlight, campfires, candles, and those standard bulbs. We should at least be aware of the odd witch’s brew emanating from the new lamps.
Here’s what I did. I bought boxes of 60W and 75W incandescent light bulbs (they’re still available), and now I have enough to last forever. I use them in the winter because their extra heat is not wasted energy during the cold season. In summer, when our bodies get many hours of natural light anyway, I switch to CFLs.
I honestly don’t know if I’m being paranoid. I’m not advocating anything here. But if you buy a good pocket spectroscope online (about $50), which is a wonderful astronomical tool, you’ll see exactly what’s going on.
We all want to save energy. Making your home lighting match the Sun and stars by “going for more colors” could create a conflict between hazy health concerns and societal benefit. Oh, well.
Life is rarely black and white.
Contact me about my strange universe by visiting http://skymanbob.com.