The Light Bulb Ban

Are the old incandescent light bulbs a thing of the past? In Europe and several other countries the answer is, yes.

As of Tuesday, Europe's light bulb ban will be in effect. That means retail stores won't be able to buy or import traditional light bulbs. The can however, sell their inventory.

What does this mean to the consumer? Probably a rush to the store to stock up on incandescent light bulbs while supplies last.

It's not all bad though. The compact fluorescent light bulbs use about 80% less energy and last many times longer than the traditional bulb - saving you money in the long run. The down side - the cost of the compact fluorescent light bulbs.

The light bulb ban, which will be phased in over the next couple of years, is only one of the ways Europe is trying to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Hopefully, reaching their goal of 20% less emissions by 2012.

Other countries already have similar light bulb bans in place. The USA is getting ready to launch a similar light bulb ban in 2012. With all the interest in compact fluorescent light bulbs the pressure is now on the manufacturers of these bulbs to come up with a more 'healthy' bulb that contains significantly less mercury.

I'm sure some people are quiet put out over this new environmentally friendly move forced on us by the governments. On the other hand, an awful lot of people jumped on the band wagon long before now. This new ban is just pushing the stragglers to catch-up.

If we want to clean up our environment everybody has to participate. I think this was a good move by the government. We all need to be part of the solution.