The Incandescent Light Bulb Is Losing It's Bright Appeal

Only 10% of the power used by today’s incandescent bulbs is emitted as light, while the other 90% is released as heat,” Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said when she introduced her legislation to ban standard light bulbs. To eliminate this waste, Harman has proposed legislation that would effectively eliminate incandescent light bulbs from store shelves nationwide as early by 2012. Her proposal was incorporated as part of an energy bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month. Though the incandescent light bulb has logged more than 125 years as the reigning light technology with little competition, lawmakers supporting the legislation see the 4 billion light-bulb sockets in American homes as an obvious way to curtail energy consumption and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.