Lights Out for Traditional Bulbs

It's lights out for incandescent bulbs. Starting Tuesday, the European Union has enacted a ban on the manufacture and import of the standard 100-watt and frosted light bulbs, according to news reports.

Stores will be allowed to sell off remaining stocks of such bulbs.

Over the next three years, all incandescent light bulbs, which release most of their energy as heat not light, will be phased out completely. A similar ban is expected to begin in the United States in 2012.

As part of its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020, the European Union will replace incandescent bulbs with more efficient types of lighting, including fluorescent, halogen and LED (light emitting diodes) lamps.

But of course, tradeoffs abound: Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) contain small amounts of mercury that could build up in landfills, where the chemicals can leach into the soil and water, poisoning fish and other wildlife. And some individuals claim the flickering of fluorescent lights can cause migraines, though there's no science to back up such claims.

LEDs, which first showed up in calculators and digital watches in the 1970s, are being touted as the future of lighting. Similar to light bulbs but without the filament, LEDs are expected to be twice as energy efficient as CFLs, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Read the full story at NPR.