LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
- April 17, 2007
To The Editor;
There has been a lot of talk recently about compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and their increased efficiency over incandescent light bulbs. Australia has banned the conventional light bulb, California is considering doing the same.
Here in Canada, NDP M.P. Paul Dewar has introduced an amendment to the Clean Air Act to ban light bulbs. The intentions are good, to reduce electrical consumption. CFLs are up to 4 times more efficient then regular light bulbs.
Fluorescent lighting is a good choice for illuminating a factory or warehouse where a lot of light is needed over a large area. For living areas in a home, I think people should have a choice. Fluorescent light is a harsh light which is hardly warm and cozy. It makes people look like Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones after a rough night.
If you read the packaging on the CFL, it says that they are not to be used with such energy saving devices as dimmers, timers and photocells. What the packaging doesn't say is that each CFL contains 5 mg of mercury.
This highly toxic substance will likely be released into the environment somewhere along the way from your living room to the landfill. If Mr. Dewar wants to promote CFL use, then a more positive approach is needed. Start by eliminating sales tax on CFLs. Work with manufacturers to develop a mercury recovery and recycling program.
Subsidize the purchase of CFLs or tax light bulbs. Give people a choice. This is still a free country, right?
One of the prime movers behind the worldwide Ban the Bulb cause is Phillips, one of the largest manufacturers of CFLs. Not to be left behind, G.E. has announced that by 2010 it will have an incandescent light bulb that is 2-4 times as efficient as today's light bulb.
The Law of Unintended Consequences applies to this situation. Ban light bulbs in one state or province and people will drive to buy them somewhere else. The current situation is too important for half-baked solutions. We need to move away from the use of fossil fuels as quickly as possible. Polls show that people are ready to make sacrifices for the sake of the planet's future. If people are going to make changes they need to know that what they do will make a real difference. A CFL powered by a fossil fuel burning power plant makes no sense.
Conservation is important, but to deal effectively with the global climate change problem will require creative, positive, initiatives to produce more power. On the North Coast, Syncwave will be installing power resonators that convert waves into electricity.
Here in the Valley, Murv Baker is working on setting up a cooperative to produce wind power. Government can help by encouraging these types of projects.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb after trying 6,000 potential filaments. Before we throw Mr. Edison's most useful invention on the scrap heap of history some thought is required. Let's not jump on the first bandwagon that rolls by claiming to solve our problems with a stroke of the pen.
- Dan Pippin, Princeton
To The Editor;
The best assessment for learning takes place in a classroom context with assessment tools that match the curriculum that has been taught.
Sometimes it is useful to administer a standardized diagnostic test to an individual student to help diagnose learning needs. However, the use of standardized tests like Foundation Skills Assessments (FSAs) administered across a grade, school or district does not help teachers teach or students learn.
The research is clear; assessment that provides descriptive feedback is more effective than assessment that provides evaluation feedback, such as a mark. (Bangert-Downs et al., 1991; Black and Williams, 1998; Crooks, 2001; Turnstall and Gipps, 1996) Research has also shown that large-scale testing can have negative effects on student motivation and learning. (Harlen and Erich, 2002)
Large scale assessments do not provide teachers with new information about their students' learning. The pressure to improve scores on standardized achievement tests shifts the attention of teachers, students, and parents to test results and away from learning. The administration of these tests is seriously eroding instructional time and narrowing the curriculum. The money spent is being taken from things that could help students learn.
It's time to stop the loss of instructional time to testing. Student learning should be supported with a variety of classroom assessment methods that are integrated with instruction.
Increasingly, parents are withdrawing their children from Foundation Skills Assessments by writing letters to their child's principal asking that their child be withdrawn from the Foundation Skills Assessment.
- Robert Tarswell, Princeton
