Friday, October 9, 2009
The Light Bulb vs the Nanny State
In September, the European Union banned the sale of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs, with lawbreakers facing up to $70,000 in fines. Over the next few years, bans on lower-wattage bulbs kick in. In the United States, similar legislation comes into play in 2012. The idea is to kickstart the market for compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which use less energy than conventional incandescents. Although CFLs present any number of problems (even beyond a much higher initial cost), governments all over the globe are determined to make them the new standard.
Invented in its modern form by Thomas Edison in 1879, the light bulb became synonymous with a brilliant idea. Now, it seems, it's just one more symbol of a nanny state that increasingly dictates more choices in our public and private lives.
"Light bulbs vs. The Nanny State" is produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie. Approximately two minutes. Go to http://reason.tv for embed code and downloadable versions.
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1 comment:
Yes, nanny state is right...
it may sound good to "only allow efficient products".
Unfortunately, whether for buildings or TV sets or dishwashers or light bulbs,
many desirable product features, e.g. performance efficiency, appearance, construction,
as well as lower purchase cost and indeed overall savings can be tied up with product versions that use more energy
( http://www.ceolas.net/#cc2x )
As for light bulbs:
Europeans like Americans choose to buy ordinary light bulbs around 8 to 9 times out of 10 (light industry and European Commission data 2008).
Banning what people want gives the supposed savings - no point in banning an impopular product = no "savings"!
If new LED lights - or improved incandescents or CFL "energy saving" lights - are good,
people will buy them - no need to ban ordinary light bulbs (little point).
If they are not good, people will not buy them - no need to ban ordinary light bulbs (no point).
The arrival of the transistor didn’t mean that more energy using radio valves/tubes were banned… they were bought less anyway.
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