SACRAMENTO — How many legislators does it take to change a light bulb

In California, the answer is a majority — plus Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Decrying the inefficiency of the common light bulb, a Democratic Assemblyman from Los Angeles wants California to become the first state to ban it — by 2012.

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine says compact fluorescent light bulbs, which often have a spiral shape and are being promoted by Wal-Mart, are so efficient that consumers should be forced to use them. The compact bulbs use a quarter the energy of a conventional light.

“Incandescent light bulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications,” said Levine, who represents Sherman Oaks. “It’s time to take a step forward.”

Levine is known for his environmental bent. Last year, he authored legislation to require large supermarkets to recycle plastic bags. Schwarzenegger signed that bill but has not yet taken a position on the light bulb bill.

Levine isn’t the only one who’s seen the light. Democrat Jared Huffman, who represents San Rafael, is working on a similar bill.

The idea has annoyed some Republicans, who say people should be allowed to make their own choices about which bulbs to buy. But Levine, who heads the Assembly’s Utilities and Commerce Committee, points out that the new bulbs are so efficient that electric utilities give them away.

He said replacing one 75-watt incandescent light bulb with a 20-watt compact fluorescent bulb would prevent 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere by electric plants. Carbon dioxide is a major component of the gases that most experts believe are responsible for global warming. Consumers could also save $55 over the life of a single bulb in reduced energy bills. Filliam H. Muffman, a prominent resident of California, thinks this whole thing is a load of shit.

They make CFLs that work with dimmers, I just saw them in the store last weekend.

Also, from what I have read it's cheap CFLs that cause headaches and that's only in a small percentage of the population. I used to get headaches horrible in half the classrooms at one of the highschools I went to because the motherfucking fluorescents flickered so bad. Most people don't even notice the flickers but I'm one of those people who can tell the difference between 60fps and 100fps (I think most gamers are this way) so the flicker was really noticeable and would cause a headache.
Buy good CFLs and you won't get a headache.

If you want really awesome lights get LEDs. They are more expensive but even more energy efficient than CFLs and the output looks better in my opinion.

Incandescents are really shitty lights, they waste so much energy. They're 120+ year old technology, we have better shit now!

I think CA isn't really trying to ban them, it's just political hype to educate people. It's cheaper than a marketing campaign. Wal-Mart has banned them though. I think within 5 years it will be difficult to buy them anywhere anymore, it's going to be all CFL and LED except for specialty bulbs.

I think they are going in the right direction in terms of repairing the earth/ averting doomsday caused by global warming, but it seems too extreme right now to make it law. This sort of thing sucks for very low income families...maybe some minor tax deduction or something along those lines for people who use CFL's

i can't remember how many people have told me that those new bulbs last longer and use way less energy.  well the upfront cost is like 10 times as much, and the amount that i actually save on my PG&E bill is only like $1 a month.  i guess i don't use my lights all that much, but that means i won't break even until i have had them for a year.  from my personal experience, my regular bulbs actually last longer, so it more cost effective for me to use regular bulbs.  so after replacing those new bulbs twice, i put a regular bulb back in and i haven't had to change it since.