The revolutionary light bulb is going the way of the dodo in Europe. Our writer retraces the evolution of its extinction.

NINE days ago, European Commission Regulation No. 244/2009 pulled the plug on the last of the incandescent light bulbs.

It is now illegal for EU countries to either import or produce these bulbs, while consumers must now opt for energy-saving alternatives like compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). (Retailers, however, are allowed to sell off their existing stock after which the conditions of the ban apply.)

This unceremonious end to the revolutionary invention does not come as a complete shock, though. Its phase-out had already been in the offing back in 2009 when the energy-guzzling 100-watt bulbs first got the boot.

One of my earliest memories of playing assistant to my dad’s DIY pursuits was determining if a bulb had fused by shaking it gently and listening for the chinkle of broken filament. This is made all the fuzzier by the warm yellow light it was renowned for.

Yet, that very quality was to herald its demise in the 21st century as it was found “to waste 95% of the energy it consumed”. In the bid to meet its climate objectives, the European Union (amongst other countries) committed to do away with the traditional light bulb, placing its energy-efficient cousins under the spotlight instead.

CFLs apparently use 80% less energy and are more durable. By switching to CFLs, the EU expects to slash its annual carbon dioxide emissions by around 15 million tonnes and estimated that “by 2020 this will save enough energy to power 11 million households each year while saving every family more than ‚50 on their electricity bill”. This, in turn, is expected to garner an “EU-wide savings of about ‚5bil annually”.

Given the state of our environment, clearly the arguments are stacked against the light bulb as more countries (including Malaysia) commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Most consumers, too, see the wisdom in using the more eco-friendly versions; some, however, do so grudgingly and for various reasons.

One argument is that government higher-ups arbitrarily took the decision without even considering consumer opinion. Branding it as “light-bulb socialism”, many Europeans resented being forced to switch, complaining about “the ugliness and the cold, flat, unnatural, dull light emanating from CFLs”.

This resulted in hoarding with sales in Germany soaring to 150% in 2009 compared to 2008. Among the zealous buyers were museums and artists who claim that the traditional light bulb does more justice to paintings and sculptures.

Others insinuate that perhaps “darker forces” are at play to stretch profit margins. In a recent report, Spiegel Online stated “the makers of the documentary film Bulb Fiction even speculate that the European light-bulb lobby are behind the demise of the cheaper incandescent light bulb given the much larger profit margins associated with more expensive energy-saving light bulbs”.

In the same Spiegel report, chemist Michael Braungart was reported as saying that “the new products are ‘a crime’ owing to the highly toxic mercury they contain. ‘In the name of protecting the environment, the EU is forcing its citizens to bring toxic waste into their homes,’ says Braungart, who called the legislation ‘perverse’”. However, the German Federal Environment Agency, which conducted a study in 2010, concluded that should an energy-saving bulb accidentally break, it is sufficient to simply open the windows and air out the space.

The bulb’s safe disposal is another point of contention. Since retailers are not bound under the regulations to take back used bulbs, householders could toss them into regular garbage, thus raising the possibility of mercury seeping into the soil or groundwater. However, the German Environmental Aid Association (DUH) counter-argued: “It’s still less than what would be released if we had to produce the energy we save in coal-fired power plants.”

Perhaps the most emphatic argument in favour of the light bulb may also be the most emotional. After all, the light bulb came to symbolise man’s triumph over darkness – literally. “Let there be light” became possible with a flick of the switch.

And in decades to come, “a light-bulb moment” might cease to make sense to earthlings more accustomed to slowly brightening lights.

Finally, eliminating the light bulb from our daily lives is also a sad admission of our short-sightedness in weighing how our excesses would eventually affect our world. Just like how we’ve failed nature in so many other ways.

One can only hope that we’ll see the light. Soon. – With reference from Wikipedia

> Brenda Benedict is a Malaysian living in Frankfurt, Germany. She wishes that she had saved at least one light bulb for posterity.

• AirAsia X offers free tickets to any destination for initial public offering to retail investors
• If you want to go far work early and hard on personal branding
• Doc held for posing as cop to extort businessman
• Cyclone takes the heat for hot weather
• Allianz aims for RM150mil in new premiums
• Couple upset over baby’s death
• Malaysia's I-Bhd and Thailand's CPN in mall joint venture with GDV of RM580mil
• From tomorrow, city cabbies can pick up passengers from KLIA
• Najib wants Chinese in Cabinet
• Todd was under treatment for depression, public inquiry told