Let There Be (Incandescent) Light!

Will we be nostalgic for the incandescent light bulb 20 years from now? Will they go the way of 8-track tapes, the manual typewriter and the Betamax?

It certainly looks that way, according to the Wall Street Journal. If Congress has its way, the common incandescent light bulb that we've all grown up with and taken for granted will be replaced within a decade by the compact fluorescent bulb, or CFL, which is far more efficient than its 19th Century Edisonian predecessor -- and also far more expensive.

There's only one problem with this. Yes, we all agree that it would make sense from an environmental standpoint. But has anyone in Congress taken a minute to point out that fluorescent light is ugly as hell? And that the CFL looks like a colonoscopy in action? I had a light fixture in my apartment ripped out and replaced specifically because I didn't want fluorescent light in my apartment -- and now Congress is going to force me to use it?

As the Journal piece puts it:

Fluorescent bulbs have been around for years and are known to be more economical over the long run, but consumers have shown a clear preference for the softer and more easily adjusted glow of incandescent bulbs, which also carry a much cheaper sticker price. Now, there is push toward using regulation to force adoption of the more energy-efficient product.

In other words, it looks better and it's cheaper but it's going to be forced into obsolescence on the grounds on environmental purity.

I'm not crazy about this, but what is to be done? Should we all hoard incandescent light bulbs, the way people stocked up on booze before Prohibition set in? Will there be a black market in foreign light bulbs from Mexico?

I think I should just buy a shitload of candles and say the hell with it.

Tom Moran