Light Bulbs

If you've been wondering what's been happening on the light bulb front since our Woolworths campaign last year (and much as they were in our bad books, it's sorry to see them go), there's been some developments on the European stage where politicians have been voting on plans to improve their efficiency and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the EU.

The good news is that, on Tuesday, the EU has at long last agreed on a ban of inefficient incandescent light bulbs; the somewhat worse news is that we'll have to wait several years for it to come into full effect. In the meantime, inefficient bulbs will still be on sale and given the desperate need to reduce emissions, it's not enough and it's not soon enough.

Excellent news reaches us from the Philippines where a ban on old-fashioned incandescent bulbs has recently been announced.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced plans for phasing out inefficient bulbs by January 2010, adding the Asian archipelago to the growing list of countries, including Ireland and Japan, which are slashing their emissions by shifting to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). So pressure is building up on our own government - and indeed the entire EU - to bring in their own mandatory efficiency standards for light bulbs.

The Mail waxes lyrical about its favourite subject

What fun the media has been having with light bulbs lately, peddling claims that they are extremely dangerous due to the mercury they contain and that they could cause skin cancer. With an eye recently sobered by new year abstinence, let's take a closer look.

After last week's amazing news that Ireland is going to ban inefficient light bulbs in early 2009, we thought it was time to give our own government a squeeze on the issue. The speed at which our neighbour across the Irish Sea will be ditching incandescent bulbs has shown just how ineffective London has been so far.

Not only does Ireland now join the likes of Australia, Venezuela and Cuba who have already laid down bulb legislation, it also proves our own government is dragging its feet. Earlier this year, a voluntary phase-out of inefficient bulbs by the end of 2011 was announced which even at the time was pretty rubbish. Thousands of small retailers aren't covered by the scheme so incandescent bulbs will still be on sale beyond that date. Ireland's tough new legislation now makes this initiative look even more feeble.