Light Bulb Law Raises Concerns

The end to those familiar pear-shaped light bulbs on store shelves since Thomas Edison developed the technology is not far away now.  A federal law would ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs beginning in 2012.  For many, that will complicate things as chandeliers with lampshades that clip onto the bulbs will have to be replaced, dimmer switches or 3-way switches will no longer be usable on the fluorescent bulbs and the mercury contained in the new bulbs makes them a concern for disposal or in the case of accidental breakage.  Wyoming’s Senators have been working to seek a repeal of the law with a bill sponsored by Mike Enzi.  Senator John Barrasso cosponsored that bill.  The elimination of the light bulbs were attached to the standards put into the 2007 energy law which effectively bans incandescent bulbs that produce 310 – 2600 lumens of light by January 2014. Bulbs outside this range — roughly, light bulbs currently less than 40 Watts or more than 150 Watts — are exempt from the ban.   In 2009, Switzerland banned the sale of all light bulbs of the Energy Efficiency Class F and G, which affects a few types of incandescent light bulbs. Italy accomplished this through a ban on their sale of incandescent bulbs by 2010, and the United Kingdom has enlisted the help of retailers with a voluntary, stated phase out the sale of incandescent bulbs this year.