Posted on 01/30/2007 6:54:26 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
The "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act" would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs.
"Incandescent lightbulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications," California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said on Tuesday.
"Meanwhile, they remain incredibly inefficient, converting only about 5 percent of the energy they receive into light."
Levine is expected to introduce the legislation this week, his office said.
If passed, it would be another pioneering environmental effort in California, the most populous U.S. state. It became the first state to mandate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, targeting a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2020.
Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) use about 25 percent of the energy of conventional lightbulbs.
Many CFLs have a spiral shape, which was introduced in 1980. By 2005, about 100 million CFLs were sold in the United States, or about 5 percent of the 2-billion-lightbulb market, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
That number could more than double this year. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. alone wants to sell 100 million CFLs at its stores by the end of 2007, the world's biggest retailer said in November.
While it will not give opinion on the possible California law, the EPA recommends CFLs.
"They save money and energy," EPA spokeswoman Enesta Jones said. "They are more convenient than other alternatives and come in different sizes and shapes to fit almost any fixture."
Also, CFLs generate 70 percent less heat than incandescent lights, Jones said.
About a fifth of the average U.S. home's electricity costs pays for lighting, which means even if CFLs initially cost more than conventional lightbulbs, consumers will save, Jones said.
A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 75-watt conventional bulb, and lasts 13 times longer, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit group studying energy issues.
Southern California Edison, an Edison International subsidiary and one of the state's biggest utilities, runs a program that cuts the cost of a CFL by $1 to $2.50. In the past year, SCE has helped consumers buy 6 million CFLs, it said.
California Energy Commission member Arthur Rosenfeld said an average home in California will save $40 to $50 per year if CFLs replace all incandescent bulbs.
While not commenting specifically on Levine's likely legislation, Rosenfeld, winner of the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award in 2006, said the switch from incandescent bulbs became feasible about five years ago when CFL performance improved.
"This is clearly an idea whose time has come," he said.
Levine, a Democrat from Van Nuys in Los Angeles, last year introduced a bill that will become law in July that requires most grocery stores to have plastic bag recycling.
Like a bunch of nuts on steroids,, They never rest,,
So what's going to go off when a person gets a great idea?
Are you SURE this wasn't from The Onion?
remember last time they helped us by regulating household items in the name of the enviroment? my toilet won't stop clogging
The state is going bankrupt, businesses and legal citizens are leaving in droves, and lawmakers are working on banning light bulbs. Marvelous.
The new CF bulbs are much better than before, and they really do work well. I've put a bunch of them in my house in various places. And they're *very* economical.
As such, they'll gain in popularity and be used more and more without dumb laws like this. There are some places that an incandescent bulb is still the only real choice(dimmers, for example).
Dumb law.
The movie industry, perhaps the last world dominating industry in California, should particularly appreciate this. As far as I know there are no non-incandescent lamps useful for film. For that matter even still flash's are incandescent - bye bye evening photography in Cali.
Follow the money.
It's always been presented as a voluntary effort.
Can the rest of us force California to secede?
Geez o pete! Why?
Conventional light bulbs are going away on their own. I have gradually been replacing them in my house and so have other people. They sure make the light bill drop.
Just leave it alone.
I agree with Edison!
I'll stock up with a lifetime supply of regular light bulbs, the flourescent ones give off crappy light.
I tried a few of them and threw them away.
I would change it to "How Many Legislators are Dimbulbs Act".
Maybe candles will come back. The idea of going to bed early, shutting off the lights in parking lot´s might increase the population in California.
I'm looking forward to returning to California to visit my parents next Christmas and seeing all the fluorescent Christmas lights on the tree.
California and the world gone insane.
Then on the east coast by 2017.....
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