Rick Friedman for the New York Times

We read an awesome article by Erik A. Taub last Friday in the New York Times.  Here is a link: Build a Better Bulb for a $10 Million Prize.

It’s pretty exciting stuff.

If you’re a lighting geek.

LED (light emitting diode) bulbs are in use all over the world.  They use very little electricity and last a ridiculously long time.   So long, you might have to account for them in your will.

At this point they are a niche product — trendy and expensive — but LEDs will continue to grow in popularity as the technology improves and the prices come down.  All of the leading manufacturers are devoting tons of money to research and development, prize or no prize.

At GreenPoma.com we feature a few  LEDs as well as loads of beautiful CFLs (yes such things exist) and high efficiency halogens that will help you reduce the size of your electric bill and your carbon footprint.  Click on the links to get a peek at our product pages.

And remember, we are always happy to help you choose  the best green bulbs for the 5 most frequently lit fixtures in your home.  Try our Bulb Finder, or shoot us an email.

Lighting geeks love to share.

In honor of the first day of school here in Concord, a post about lunchboxes.

I really had an Atom Ant lunchbox. Why I picked this one, and not, say, Barbie in 1966 when I headed off to kindergarten will remain forever a mystery. I’d like to think it’s because I was too cool for Barbie. More likely it was on sale.

On the one hand, the old metal lunchboxes had their drawbacks: they were heavy, prone to rusting (especially the bockety snap closures) and the glass lined thermoses rarely lasted through the month of September.

But what they didn’t have was lead.

Unlike the soft-sided vinyl lunchboxes that my kids bring to school each day. It turns out that a group very concerned with the levels of toxins in our environment, the Center for Environmental Health has tested a few hundred vinyl lunch boxes and have found that they can contain lead. According to Snopes.com, the levels of lead found were low, but still. I am sending in lunch because I question the nutritional value of  Batman Hotpockets.  Which are most likely better than lead- laden peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from home.

According to Snopes.com, the amount of lead in the tested lunchboxes is fairly low; a child would have to rub his hands on the box and then lick them, about 100 times a day for 15-30 days for there to be a health hazard.   Ok even my boys couldn’t be dared into that one.  But lead poisoning is cumulative, so for children who live in old homes with traces of lead based paint, it is worth a second thought.

It is possible to use a home testing kit on lunchboxes. It is also possible to check manufacturers’ websites to see if they have taken a lead-free pledge.

Maybe we should be scanning e-bay for some relics.