Light Bulb Laws

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/06/light-bulb-laws

Diana Furchtgott-Roth has a column updating the state of play on light bulb laws:

Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, proposed the Better Use of Light Bulb Act (BULB) on January 5.

Charlotte Baker, Chairman Upton's press secretary, told me in an email that "the committee plans to hold a hearing on lighting efficiency standards later this month," but she would not tell me whether the BULB Act would be included.

The bill, which has 62 cosponsors, 61 Republicans and one Democrat, would repeal the phaseout of incandescent light bulbs. A companion bill in the Senate is sponsored by Wyoming Republican Michael Enzi, and has 28 cosponsors.

The House Republican leadership has evinced no interest in bringing the Barton bill to the floor.

She doesn't get into whether Americans will be able to buy the old-fashioned kind of lightbulbs on Indian reservations, or be allowed to bring them into the country from overseas trips, or to order them online from offshore. I predict that eventually there will be class-action lawsuits against the compact fluorescent bulb manufacturers for exaggerated claims on their packages about the life of the bulbs. The best way to hold accountable lawmakers forcing these bulbs on Americans isn't to sue them, but to vote them out of office.

Drinking With Bob's take on the issue is here and embedded below, with the China and GE angles. His rhetorical approach to the issue is a little different that Ms.Furchtgott-Roth, but I think he comes down in basically the same place. He builds on reporting by Timothy Carney for the Washington Examiner.

My friend in the lightbulb business tells me that prices are going to come down quickly on the Light Emitting Diodes as economies of scale kick in and better manufacturing technologies come on line, and also that the LEDs are better than the compact fluorescents for light quality and for how long they last.

In a related development, South Carolina politicians are pushing the Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act, "would allow South Carolina manufacturers to continue to sell incandescent bulbs so long as they have 'Made in South Carolina' on them and are sold only within the state."

Earlier FutureOfCapitalism coverage of the lightbulb issue is here and here.

by Editor  |  Jun 2, 2011 at 10:33 am Related Topics:  China, Energy, General Electric receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list