| on Jan 2, 2008, 02:19 PM E.S.T.
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If only Microsoft could argue that its competitors hurt the environment.
 Just like that--like
flipping a switch--Congress and the president banned incandescent light
bulbs last month. OK, they did not exactly ban them. But the energy
bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush sets
energy-efficiency standards for light bulbs that traditional
incandescent bulbs cannot meet.
The new rules phase in starting in
2012, but don't be lulled by that five-year delay. Whether it's next
week or next decade, you will one day walk into a hardware store
looking for a 100-watt bulb--and there won't be any. By 2014, the new
efficiency standards will apply to 75-watt, 60-watt and 40-watt bulbs
too.
Representatives of Philips and
General Electric, two of the biggest lightbulb makers, say there's
nothing to be concerned about. And Larry Lauck of the American Lighting
Association says, "I think everyone's pretty happy" with the new law.
But then, the lighting industry has no reason not to be: People will
need light, whatever the law says--according to Randy Moorehead of
Philips, there are four billion standard-size (or "medium base") light
sockets in America alone.
So if you're GE or Philips or
Sylvania, the demise of the plain vanilla lightbulb is less a threat
than an opportunity--an opportunity, in particular, to replace a
product that you can sell for 50 cents with one that sells for $3 or
more. Read rest of story...
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