How many British politicians does it take to change a lightbulb? That was the question on many people's lips after Australia today announced plans to ban the sale of inefficient incandescent lightbulbs within three years.
Reacting to the news, Greenpeace climate campaigner Laura Yates said: "The UK government says it is leading the world in the fight against catastrophic climate change, but hasn't yet seen the light and continues to allow the sale of these energy hungry dinosaurs in our shops."
Greenpeace is today kicking off a campaign to persuade the government and retailers to eliminate the most wasteful lightbulbs from our shops.
The Australians, having refused to ratify the Kyoto protocol, are not usually seen as trendsetters in the field of CO2 reduction. But as Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull points out, the banning of incandescent bulbs will help them trim Australia's current emissions and lower household lighting costs by around 66 per cent.
The Californian legislature is also about to vote on similar proposals - the "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act" would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favour of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 100-watt conventional bulb, lasts up to 12 times longer, and can save consumers around
