Incandescent Bulbs Get a Reprieve

An anonymous reader writes "A new budget deal reached today by the U.S. Congress walks back the energy efficiency standards that would have forced the phase out of incandescent bulbs. 'These ideas were first enacted during the Bush administration, via the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Incandescent bulbs were unable to meet the standards, so they would eventually be forced off the market in favor of LEDs and compact fluorescent bulbs. But Republicans have since soured on the bill, viewing it as an intrusion on the market and attempting to identify it with President Obama. Recent Congresses have tried many times to repeal the standards, but these have all been blocked. However, U.S. budgets are often used as a vehicle to get policies enacted that couldn't pass otherwise, since having an actual budget is considered too valuable to hold up over relatively minor disputes. The repeal of these standards got attached to the budget and will be passed into law with it.'"

Re:Good riddance

[ericloewe]

Ethanol? What unintended consequences? It did exactly what it was supposed to do:

Drive up corn prices artificially.

Re:Freakin' Riders.

[Ralph Spoilsport]

So, pass them on to your children. And would you hurry up and die already.

This is going to screw up ...

[PPH]

... my whale oil lamp business. In fact, the whaling fleet has already left port and I'm not sure we can recall them.

Re:Freakin' Riders.

[camperdave]

Seems unlikely, unless it's your oven light...

Although CFLs technically will work in an Easy Bake Oven, they really need incandescents.

Re:This is going to screw up ...

[russotto]

Oil from juvenile seals, expressed by antemortem percussion, works just as well as whale oil.

Re:Freakin' Riders.

[speederaser]

GE 26 Watt Energy Smart CFL - 100 Watt Replacement, about $250 each -- rated at 8,000 hours

As it turns out, your $250 "GE 26 Watt Energy Smart CFL - 100 Watt Replacement" bulb is now on sale for $13.40 each:

http://www.amazon.com/Watt-Energy-Smart-CFL-Replacement/dp/B000UYF80S [amazon.com]

If we extrapolate [xkcd.com], by tomorrow the price should be about 4 cents each.

Re:Freakin' Riders.

[roc97007]

Geeze, one typo and nobody will ever let you forget it. $2.50, not $250 obviously. Or at $13.40 for six, a little under that, if you want to get pedantic.