photo originally uploaded by grizzly
Australia today became the first nation to ban traditional light bulbs, requiring that consumers and businesses install high efficiency lighting to cut greenhouse gas emissions. A month ago a liberal Los Angeles state legislator was widely ridiculed for proposing a similar ban on incandescent bulbs in California. But in this case it’s the conservative government of Australian Prime Minister John Howard that is flipping the switch on a 125-year-old technology in a nation of 20 million people. Incandescent light bulbs will be phased out by 2010, eliminating an estimated 4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases annually by 2015, according to the government. "The most effective and immediate way we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions is by using 
energy more efficiently,” said Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a statement. "The climate change challenge is a global one. I encourage other countries to follow Australia’s lead and make the switch to more energy efficient products like compact fluorescent light bulbs.” CFLs use 70 percent less electricity than traditional bulbs and last 10 times longer. Australia’s bulb ban is good news for General Electric (GE), Philips, Honeywell (HON) and other compact fluorescent light bulb manufacturers as well as retailers that sell their products. In the United States, Wal-Mart (WMT) has pledged to sell 100 million CFLs this year.
There’s no small irony in the Howard government seeing the light on energy conservation as a solution to global warming.
Under Howard, Australia joined the U.S. as the
only industrialized countries that refused to implement the Kyoto
Accord and his administration has done little to lessen the nation’s dependence on coal. But Howard’s conservative coalition government faces an
election this year and climate change has emerged as a hot, as it were,
campaign issue. The opposition Labor Party’s new environment spokesman
and media magnet is Peter Garrett, the charismatic former frontman for leftie Aussie rock band Midnight Oil. Both Garrett and Turnbull, the current environment minister, have been tipped as possible future prime ministers.
Green Wombat 
What about the mercury in Flourescents. Will Australia have a recycling program?
…and what about situations where CFLs work poorly? So called “standard” bulbs work well in extreme cold, whereas CFLs have considerable “lag,” if they work at all. When you have an potential intruder outside the door, you need light right now, not ten seconds from now…
How about LED light bulbs?
No problems. We will simply pass a law that says CFLs must turn on immediately. Even better, let’s pass a law that mandates all combustion produce oxygen instead of carbon dioxide.
If the law just states that incandescents are disallowed, it doesn’t automatically mean you have to go to CFL’s. Another responder indicated LED bulbs are available as well, and there are several makers of them starting to become mainstream.
CFLs and LEDs give off unnatural light. CFL’s make everything look gray. LEDs make everything look blue and washed out. Australia needs to look into ways to build a better light bulb that can compete with the incandescent bulbs. Then the public would naturally move from preferring the incandescent to the better alternative.
Thank God for John Howard, he is what I call a leader. He confirms what I have been saying for years. An even better Idea, is for some in this country is to get a law passed to ban most if not all yard lights in this country Which would save billions in energy and many more billions by defering building more power plants.
Using CFLs over regular light bulbs is no brainer. Any person saying otherwise is being ignorant. They emit less heat, use less energy and you do not have to replace them as often. The surcharge doesn’t take them out like it does happen to regular bulbs. So if you have someone outside and turn the switch and bulb goes out then you will say oh yeah I should have used CFL.
I use only CFLs in my appartment for almost 8 months now. Now bulb went out yet, I am saving money and since I live in California I am saving on AC too cause the bulbs do not generate heat. Way to go AUSTRALIA, everyone else should join too.
CFLs and LEDs don’t always produce unnatural light. Natural spectrum versions of those lights are readily available. I think this is a classic no-brainer: a simple and relatively painless way to begin to address the carbon emissions issue. And if the industrialized nations implement it now, it will reduce the need for more draconian measures later.
Thank God for Mr. John Howard, He confirms what I have been saying for years,Another good Idea is for someone in this country is to get a law passed most if not all of the yard lights as it contributes to globel warming and a waste of billions in energy, not counting the savings in building more power plants.
Start stocking up on light bulbs now. I can see a terrific black market opportunity for them in the near future.
Gray? CFLs do not make everything look gray! A possible candidate for Lasik surgery? CFLs come in 27K, 30K, 35K, 41K, & 50K, these temperature/Kelvin ratings range from very yellow to very blue. I have personally, seen the mood of senior citizens change after we switched from incandescent to CFLs in assisted living facilities. Not only do you save 80% in energy, but your CFLs last 12 times longer. New CFLs are coming out with lower amounts of mercury too. You are saving the environment and your vision. There is always resistance to change…at first. That is human nature.
Mass usage of CFLs in homes started here in Europe about 5 years ago. Except for halogen incandescent bulbs hardly anyone buys incandescent lamps since then.
Especially the halogen 12 V lamps are now being replaced by LED which come in the same format and voltage. Warm-white LEDs are very popular.
They consume only 3- 5 watts, while a halogen consumes 35 watts. However the first LED devices
had some lifetime problems. The temperature dependency is as such as colder it gets the brighter they shine.
CFL bulbs only work well at room temperature; when it’s colder, they don’t start; when it’s hotter, they burn out rapidly; .
CFL bulbs used in completely enclosed light fixtures also burn out rapidly, often in a few hours.
CFL bulbs are not a universal replacement for incandescent bulbs.
CFL’s are a step in the right direction. You can come up with a list of reasons why they arent ideal, but the incandescent list would be something like:
waste electricity
cost more to run
produce more greenhouse gasses
dont last very long
can cause fire
In the times we live in these negatives are far greater than those you list for CFL’s.
BTW- there are also cold cathode, LED, mercury vapor, among others that are high efficiency too.
CFL’s come in all color temperatures, you can get dimmable versions, and they have not flickered more that incadescents 60hz since the electronic balast was created in the 1980s.
I use cfl’s in my home in many places. Though 100% mandate seems a little much, from situations where incadescents may be more appropriate (to your little girl crying when you tell her here little ezbake oven isn’t going to work anymore thanks to the government). But cfl’s contain mercury. Has that been taken into consideration by those who would mandate cfl’s for everyone? Someone needs to figure out how to handle that if ALL bulbs are going to be cfl’s.
Not all my lamps and fixtures will accept the cfl bulbs because they are too large at the ‘neck’. Wish someone would make them the same size before mandating I use a bulb that I cannot!
Most of my overhead fixtures are on dimmer switchs; guess that’ll have to be redone too?
I think if we had timers on the billboard signs on the the interstates and let the lights burn only 4 hours after dark it would say way more that home lights.
Ten and a half tears ago, we moved into our new 2,900 sq ft house. I pulled the incandecent bulbs the contractor installed when the house was built and installed CFL’s and flourscents. The contractor was not going to take a risk with that “new stuff”. So I did it myself and still have the box of wrapped bulbs. Want them?
All lights but 2 are CFL or flourscents. I haven’t replaced the one in the wife’s new range oven because it is a weird size. I haven’t replaced the one in the frig because I’m lazy (it’s under a bolted cover). Color rendition is fine. Start up, even with icicles hanging from the porch light cover, is not an issue. I have replace 5 tubes and 5 CFL’s in over 10 years. Bets the heck out of the old bulbs! perfect lazy man’s bulb.
BTW, switching resulted in a major reduction in utility bill! Love them!
What about excessive emr given off from a cfl.
I heard that the wasted eletromagnetic energy given off from any flourescent source can also be dangerous???
CFL’s are great in many applications, but not all. Try replacing your oven lamp with one and see what happens! They are also relatively fragile and would not work well as a refrigerator bulb. For appliances, they are not practical.
Gay Men Unite this Earth Day and Stop the Evil that is the Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb!
This Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day. This should be a day of celebration and great joy. But wait, how can we celebrate? What self-respecting gay man can celebrate a day that is quickly becoming synonymous with poor lighting? And not just poor lightin…
What type of bulbs are Australians using to replace:
A: Range oven lights: CFL’s don’t stand the heat
B: Refrigerator bulbs: CFL’s are to long and are turned of by the door B4 its fully lit % last about 3-6 months.
C: Clothes dryer bulbs: small 5w CFL’s melt and catch fire along with not bright enough.
D: Microwave Oven lights: 5w CFLs are still too big for the cavity and are in start mode continuously due to their short period of use.
E: Sewing Machines: Anybody found a replacement for these gems yet?
The bigger question is did anybody think this plan out before it was put into place?
Am I the only person in this entire debate who thinks that:
– CFLs give off the most obnoxious working light available (even worse than traditional flourescents)
– When taking into account the amount of materials (including the toxic heavy metals) that go into making a CFL versus a traditional incandescent, the more complex packaging, increased weight in shipping (heavier tankers from China, more fuel) and total lack of recycling facilities for them in Australia that in terms of environmental impact it’s unlikely that they actually make any difference at all?
I really think we’re being taken for a ride by the CFL manufacturers and that their claims of environmental friendliess are dubious at best.
what the hell does the kangaroo have to do with this article, unless of course it was him who gave the idea to Mr Howard