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US researchers say they have developed a technique that can significantly improve the efficiency of the traditional incandescent lightbulb. These older bulbs have been phased out in many countries because they waste huge amounts of energy as heat. But scientists at MIT have found a way of recycling the waste energy and focussing it back on the filament where it is re-emitted as visible light. The development has been reported in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Little has changed in the technology of the incandescent lightbulb since they were commercially developed by Thomas Edison in the US in the 1880s. Incandescent...

House democrats blocked the repeal of the light bulb ban. A majority of Americans oppose the government’s unpopular and unnecessary ban on incandescent bulbs and infringement on choice. On January 1 2012, 100 watt incandescent bulbs will become illegal, with lower wattages to follow. The democrats just voted to give jobs to China.

Republicans have introduced a repeal of federal lightbulb standards in the House, which effectively ban older-style incandescent bulbs, but Democrats in the chamber have begun uniting to defeat it. Thanks to the way the bill made it to the floor, it needs a 2/3rds majority to pass — and that looks doubtful at best: House Democrats on Monday indicated strong opposition to a controversial bill to repeal federal lightbulb standards, which could lead to the defeat of the measure in an expected Tuesday vote.The Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, H.R. 2417 would end federal bulb standards passed in 2007...

It is one of the magical moments in American history: On Sept. 4, 1882, Thomas Edison threw a ceremonial switch at the offices of J. P. Morgan in New York City, and there was light. The nearby Pearl Street Station power plant provided the electricity for light bulbs to switch on throughout the immediate area. The New York Times had 52 of the bulbs and reported they provided light “soft, mellow, and graceful to the eye . . . without a particle of flicker to make the head ache.” The light bulb represents one of the most ingenious and useful...

Regulation: The leader of the Tea Party Caucus introduces a bill saying government can't tell us what light bulbs to buy, especially if the replacements for Thomas Edison's creation pose an environmental hazard all their own. Before there was ObamaCare and its mandate to buy health insurance as a condition of citizenship, there was the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, one of the first things Democrats took up on taking power in the 2006 elections. The legislation sought to save the Earth and make us energy-independent by mandating that the incandescent bulb — arguably Edison's greatest invention, created...

(CNSNews.com) – A lighting expert who has overseen lighting projects including the Statue of Liberty and the Petronas Towers, expressed concerns on Capitol Hill Thursday about the safety of certain types of new light bulbs. Speaking before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Howard M. Branston spoke out in favor of the "Better Use of Light Bulbs Act" – a measure which would overturn elements of a 2007 law mandating that traditional incandescent light bulbs be phased out over the next few years. In his testimony, Branston claimed that parts of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act...

Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) has announced that he plans to introduce legislation to reverse the ban on incandescent light bulbs which is scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2014. The ban was included in a comprehensive energy bill that President George W. Bush signed into law in 2007 as an amendment, and was intended as a means of saving energy and limiting pollution. Senator Enzi’s repeal legislation, the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act (BULB), S. 395, has 27 co-sponsors, including Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), the latter of whose office issued the following statement...

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) seeks the chairmanship of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee (CNSNews.com) – Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) may have some explaining to do to fellow GOP colleagues as he seeks the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, given the incoming wave of new conservatives who may not appreciate some aspects of Upton's voting record.Upton joined with Rep. Jane Harman (D.-Calif.) in  2007 to co-author the legislation that effectively banned indoor incandescent light bulbs in the United States. In the last Congress, he an Harman teamed up again to offer new legislation that would extend the...

Eco-Extremism: A light bulb factory closes in Virginia as mandated fluorescents are made in China. It's now a crime to make or ship for sale 75-watt incandescent bulbs in the European Union. Welcome to green hell. Thomas Alva Edison was a genius credited with the invention of many things — the phonograph, the motion picture, the incandescent light bulb, global warming. That last credit was given by those who rank light bulbs right up there with the internal combustion engine as ravagers of the planet. The General Electric light bulb factory in Winchester, Va., closed this month, a victim, along...