14 DAY TRIAL // Those who think that they could not possibly make do without 40- and 60-watt incandescent light bulbs would do well to start stocking up. This is because, starting this coming January 1, manufacturing them will be illegal in the Unites States. What's more, importing them will also be outlawed.
A ban on manufacturing and importing 75-watt incandescent light bulbs came in place in the country earlier this year, The Blaze reports.
Apparently, these measures are all intended to twist people's arm and get them to opt for more environmentally friendly lighting options.
Thus, Noah Horowitz with the Natural Resources Defense Council has recently told the press that, should all the people in the United States start using energy-efficient light bulbs instead of incandescent ones, the country would experience major benefits both financially- and environmentally-wise.
“Once all of our nation’s 4 billion screw-based sockets have an efficient bulb in them, U.S. consumers will save $13 billion (€9.44 billion) and 30 large coal-burning power plants-worth of electricity a year,” Noah Horowitz reportedly said. “The savings really add up,” he added.
Despite the fact that the ban on 40- and 60-watt incandescent light bulbs will come into effect in the United States on January 1, 2014, odds are that folks who really like this lighting option will still find such bulbs in stores for several more weeks, maybe even months.
This is because, although it will be illegal to manufacture or import said bulbs, stores have been granted to continue selling them until the supply runs out.
Thus, the country's high officials aim to gradually phase out these bulbs, and not start a riot by outlawing them altogether.
Lighting alternatives currently available on the market are LEDs, halogen bulbs, and CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). All these lighting options are said to be able to deliver as much as incandescent light bulbs did, at the same time reducing energy use by as much as 80%.