Ireland becomes the first country in the world to ban lightbulbs

Ireland has issued a legislation that will force homeowners to switch to compact fluorescent lamps or other long-life, low-energy bulbs in the next 12 months. It has banned the sale of the incandescent light bulbs beginning January 2009.

By introducing this ban, Ireland will become the first country in the world to have a total ban on incandescent light bulbs. Initially, Ireland’s National Climate Change Strategy wanted the government to issue a levy for low-efficiency bulbs, but the Irish government went even further and announced this ban instead. According to the Irish government’s study, consumers in Ireland will save about €185m in electricity costs every year as a result of this low-energy and high-efficiency bulb conversion. Environment Minister John Gormley, who announced this ban to the public in his Carbon Budget, said the main aim for was to completely end the use of these light bulbs across the country. He said by getting rid of incandescent bulbs, they can save as much as 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year. Environmental group Greenpeace is happy with Ireland's decision and praised the country for making this simple and effective energy plan. They hope other countries in the EU and the rest of the world will do the same in the near future. Currently, there are no such bans in the USA, but some stores, including Wal-Mart and Home Depot, are phasing out incandescent bulbs. In my home, I have changed all the bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL) except for a few remaining ones. Some are worried about the mercury content in CFL, but there are safe disposable centers. Are you using CFL bulbs at home, or do you plan to continue using them?