Edison light bulb saved.

There has been a bizarre move by governments across the world over the last few years to ban the Edison light bulb, and replace it with more expensive options. Compact fluorescent bulbs have been around for years now and have gained favor owing to lower energy use and longer life, however this was not enough for the green fascists, and PC whipped politicians who demanded that the cheaper alternative be banned.

The downside of using the newer bulbs is that the high initial cost and the cleanup requirements for broken bulbs, which have been exaggerated in some instances but are still rather onerous. By banning the old incandescent bulbs, the main incentive to improve and lower the cost of the newer compacts and LED bulbs has been removed, so expect to continue paying high prices.

In the US though House Republicans have gained a reprieve for embattled households, by slipping a grenade into a 1,200 page spending bill:

Members of Congress saw the light and heeded Americans’ pleas today as House Republicans saved powerful incandescent light bulbs from the scrapheap. “It’s a little ray of sunshine, of natural light,” Texas Rep. Michael Burgess, a Republican who had led the fight against the ban, told Newsmax.

Traditional 100-watt bulbs were to have been outlawed, beginning Jan. 1, to be replaced by more expensive — and allegedly more efficient — compact fluorescent bulbs. House Republicans managed to sneak language into a massive 1,200-page spending bill that would overturn the ban and save the old-style pear-shaped bulbs.

Burgess said he can understand why the federal government can tell him what light he must use when he is at work in a federal building. “But that is not the same as telling me what bulb to use in my lamp when I am at home, reading. “I make decisions on how much energy I use and how much,” he added. “I drive a hybrid car, not because the government tells me to, but because I want to as I get better mileage.

“I installed dimmer switches in my house in 2005 because it was the reasonable thing to do, not because the government told me to.” The fight against the ban hit a nerve with the American people, Burgess added. “They feel exactly as I do. We want to have the option,” he said.

It is reported that Democrats are outraged, (probably a few nanny state Republicans too) but it is likely that the ban will be put off for the time being. Greenies and General Electric which produces the CFL’s and LED bulbs support the ban.