Ross: Are we going back to the old light bulbs?
Sep 5, 2019, 7:20 AM
CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Bernie Sanders this question during Wednesday night’s climate change town hall: “Just today, the Trump administration announced plans to overturn requirements on energy saving light bulbs. Would you reinstate those requirements?”
Sanders responded with a firm “Duh!”
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I felt a momentary panic. Because I love the light bulb standards. Yes, I admit, I had my doubts at first. In fact when the rule kicked in back in 2011 and we had to buy those curly fluorescent light bulbs, there was a rebellion in Congress. Rep Mike Burgess of Texas said the curly bulbs made his face look all pasty.
“We don’t look as good as we do under an incandescent bulb,” he said.
But then – a miracle! LED light bulbs appeared.
LEDs last 50 times as long, and use so little electricity you don’t have to turn them off. And now, thanks to LEDs, my kitchen is like high noon in summer, and the master bath feels like the transfiguration — I have to wear sunglasses to shave.
So I looked up this regulation that Trump is repealing, and it turns out it applies to work lights, oven bulbs, and those old three-way lamps.
No problem. My year-round sunshine is safe.
In fact, even if the president did repeal the whole rule, it wouldn’t matter. Because who’s going to buy a power-sucking bulb you have to keep replacing, when you can buy a miniature supernova that can blind intruders, and that you can pass on to your grandchildren?
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