loss of incandescents

Today, I am all fired up about... lightbulbs. In a world filled with gas-guzzling trucks, I’m baffled as to why the government has to pick on the incandescent bulb. By now, I’m sure you know that the production of 40 and 60-watt bulbs is illegal. This, in turn, has caused many interior designers to clear their closets hoard lightbulbs (never thought I’d write that sentence).

Ann Pyne of McMillen, Inc. is one of them. A few weeks ago, she gave a short and sweet interview on Here & Now in defense of the incandescent. Like myself, she much prefers the warm light given by incandescents over the cool, sterile light given by most halogens/CFLs/LEDs. Ann notes, “(Interior designers) spend all our time... making lampshades to get the right color, and suddenly we have a CFL, an LED, and everything’s kaput!” Though 90% of the energy used by an incandescent goes to heat, Ann says it’s not totally wasted (she has no heat in her kitchen and the light bulbs help to keep it warm).

I hope incandescents are brought back, or companies like GE develop nicer-colored bulbs. I understand that this isn’t life or death; there are certainly more pressing political issues to tackle. It’s just a little issue I’m peeved about, and my blog seemed like the perfect place to rant :)

Have you discovered a great halogen/CFL/LED bulb that you'd like to share? I'd love to hear it!

(images of Ann Pyne in her incandescent-lit study via NYSD)