mlk_man
Banned
- Reaction score
- 21
Australia today became the first nation to ban traditional light bulbs, requiring that consumers and businesses install high efficiency compact fluorescent bulbs to cut energy use and fight global warming. A month ago a liberal Los Angeles state assemblyman was widely ridiculed for proposing a similar ban on incandescent bulbs in California. But in this case it's the conservative government of Australian Prime Minister John Howard that is flipping the switch on traditional lighting in a nation of 20 million people. Incandescent light bulbs will be phased out by 2010, cutting Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 4 million metric tons annually by 2015, according to the government. "The most effective and immediate way we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions is by using 
energy more efficiently,” said Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a statement. "The climate change challenge is a global one. I encourage other countries to follow Australia’s lead and make the switch to more energy efficient products like compact fluorescent light bulbs.” CFLs use 70 percent less electricity than traditional bulbs and last 10 times longer. Australia's bulb ban is good news for General Electric (GE), Philips, Honeywell (HON) and other CFL manufacturers as well as retailers that sell their products. In the United States, Wal-Mart (WMT) has pledged to sell 100 million CFLs this year. There's no small irony in the Howard government seeing the light on energy conservation as a solution to global warming.
Under Howard, Australia joined the U.S. as the only industrialized countries that refused to implement the Kyoto Accord and his administration has done little to lessen the nation's dependence on coal. But Howard's conservative coalition government faces an election this year and climate change has emerged as a hot, as it were, campaign issue. The opposition Labor Party's new environment spokesman and media magnet is Peter Garrett, the charismatic former frontman for leftie Aussie rock band Midnight Oil. Both Garrett and Turnbull, the current environment minister, have been tipped as possible future prime ministers.
energy more efficiently,” said Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a statement. "The climate change challenge is a global one. I encourage other countries to follow Australia’s lead and make the switch to more energy efficient products like compact fluorescent light bulbs.” CFLs use 70 percent less electricity than traditional bulbs and last 10 times longer. Australia's bulb ban is good news for General Electric (GE), Philips, Honeywell (HON) and other CFL manufacturers as well as retailers that sell their products. In the United States, Wal-Mart (WMT) has pledged to sell 100 million CFLs this year. There's no small irony in the Howard government seeing the light on energy conservation as a solution to global warming.Under Howard, Australia joined the U.S. as the only industrialized countries that refused to implement the Kyoto Accord and his administration has done little to lessen the nation's dependence on coal. But Howard's conservative coalition government faces an election this year and climate change has emerged as a hot, as it were, campaign issue. The opposition Labor Party's new environment spokesman and media magnet is Peter Garrett, the charismatic former frontman for leftie Aussie rock band Midnight Oil. Both Garrett and Turnbull, the current environment minister, have been tipped as possible future prime ministers.
