The old central powers (Germany, Austria, Hungary) seem to have come together again in opposition to plans to phase out incandescent light bulbs in favor of the more expensive twirly kind:

Germans, Austrians and Hungarians are hoarding energy-hungry light bulbs, which have fallen out of favour in other European countries, ahead of a European Union ban that takes effect next month.

The scramble for conventional bulbs illuminates the challenges of persuading consumers to embrace environmentally friendly shopping habits - particularly in the midst…

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Our old pal Jay Ambrose has a great column today on the recent decision by Congress to outlaw the sale of traditional incandescent light bulbs. As Jay points out, the obvious alternative, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), have their drawbacks.

A [big concern] is that they contain mercury, which is poisonous. I did a Google search and found a news account about a kid who took a quarter of a cup of mercury to his school several years ago, resulting in intensive…

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Over the past few months, many an Open Market post has been dedicated to the issue of compact fluorescent (CFL) lightbulbs vs. traditional incandescents. We’ve more or less come to a consensus that, while CFLs have lots of advantages over their rivals, no one wants to see Congress (or the states) nosing into things with a ban on the old technology or a mandate for the new.

The energy efficiency activistes, of course, argue that we silly Americans are too stupide to know…

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William,

I disagree with your comments about compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs). They used to make you ugly but, well, they don’t anymore. Thanks to a number of improvements, CFLs have gotten far, far better in recent years. Newer CFLs actually give better light than typical incandescent light bulbs. Various new models also work with dimmer switches and come in enough shapes that they look pretty good in almost any fixture.

At least in my case, furthermore, CFLs have more than paid for…

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I came home Thursday to find an Light Emitting Diode (LED) light bulb in my mailbox. I had ordered it on ebay and paid $47.00 for it. It’s a five watt bulb that produces about a much light as a 100 watt incandescent bulb that costs about 70 cents to $2 or a 17 Watt compact florescent light bulb (CFL) that costs $5 to $10. A few observations:

1. I thought I was getting five light bulbs. (My fault for not reading better.)…

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Iain - Thanks for noting the triumph of unreason in the EU, where they’re banning barometers because of the presence of that ole devil, mercury.

Mercury, like its unfortunate metallic brother lead, has been transformed from an element with certain known properties and potential risks into an anthropomorphically evil monster that must be banished from anywhere “progressive”-thinking people congregate. Think of the children!

Which leads us into an interesting conflict. Environmentalists are clamoring for U.S. consumers to buy more compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) because…

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The front page of today’s Washington Post breaks the dramatic story I’ve been waiting to see reported on for some time: U.S. consumers don’t care about compact fluorescent light bulbs. Sorry if that revelation caused you to faint or go into a stroke-like state of shock.

Edison: Ladies Love Cool T

Despite endless cheerleading by environmentalists, the intensity of which tends to verge on the hysterical, most folks in this country have declined to purchase CFLs. Even the most aggressive talking…

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The state of California is poised to claim yet another feather for its environmental-pioneer cap with a proposed ban on the sale of incandescent lightbulbs. Under the “How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act” (seriously, that’s what it’s called) it would become a legal offense to sell an incandescent lightbulb.

The argument goes that compact fluorescent bulbs are so extraordinarily superior, there’s no reason not to ban the old fashioned kind. As usual, however, advocates are quiet on…

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