Incandescent light bulbs to be banned in Canada, thanks to the NDP
Posted by Tyler Kinch on April 25th, 2007
OTTAWA (CP) - The light is fading on one of the great inventions of the 19th century, the incandescent bulb with its white-hot filament that sheds far more heat than light.
The federal government is following a number of other jurisdictions, including Australia, Ontario and California, in banning incandescent bulbs that have dominated the lighting market since the 1880s.
The outmoded products will be phased out by 2012 and a new generation of more efficient bulbs is ready to take their place.
Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn says the ban will cut greenhouse emissions by more than six million tonnes of year. That’s about 0.8 per cent of Canada’s emissions.
Lunn said the ban will save homeowners about $60 annually in electricity costs.
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New Democrat MP Paul Dewar said he put forward a private member’s bill several weeks ago calling a ban on inefficient light bulbs and it was rejected at the time. He said the government is lurching from announcement to announcement with no overall plan on climate change.Â
This is a very common sense approach, and I’m glad the government is on side with the NDP on this, even though they were not a few weeks back. I hope this is the start of many other initiatives taking place. As much as I hate the term, this is really a “win/win” situation for both the environment and consumer’s wallets.
April 26th, 2007 at 3:22 am
Nice blog. Glad you are still working away at it! Although, I really think that the whole “do a little bit” is just a way to ease the guilt people feel for polluting our air so much. There is only so much change and improvement that can come to our environment that can be gained by consumers making these choices. Besides, there are many people who, simply, will not buy these lightbulbs (or the green car, or the…) that allows a tax break or incentive from the federal government. Remember, retro-fitting consultations for housing, etc. is not paid for by the government. So, basically, this becomes a tax cut for the upper-middle class. Whereas workers and students are left with nothing but a $10 rebate for their bus passes, or a TAX against their older cars, which some cannot afford to replace.
I am not saying that this is a terrible idea, rather that it has to be better planned out, be accessible to everyone. And, let’s face it, no real change will occur until corporate Canada bows to public pressure and stops emitting tons of greenhouse gas.
Oh, and I agree. Not a party hack