Europe's Lightbulb Socialism

Posted: Monday, September 13th, 2010

Beginning today, it is a crime to manufacture or ship for sale a traditional 75-watt incandescent light bulb in the European Union. Autocrats in Brussels last year declared war on Edison's greatest invention with a ban on 100-watt lamps. Homes throughout the Old World will continue to dim until incandescent lighting of all types is snuffed out in 2012 - the same year the United States is scheduled to begin a phaseout schedule mirroring the European plan.

The EU's final solution to the incandescent problem was sparked by bureaucratic irritation at a public that refused to accept the pale, flickering, cold light emanating from government-approved, expensive compact fluorescent bulbs. "Although energy-saving bulbs have been clearly labeled since 1998 as the most cost-effective bulbs, their relatively high purchase price has inhibited take-up, " the European Commission website explains. "To remedy this, EU governments and the European Parliament asked the Commission to adopt minimum requirements phasing out the least-efficient bulbs."

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