WSJ Falsely Suggests Law Will Ban Incandescent Bulbs

In a June 7 editorial, The Wall Street Journal claimed that “seven months from this week, Washington will effectively ban the sale of conventional 100 watt incandescent light bulbs that Americans have used nearly since the days of Thomas Edison.” The Journal further stated that "[t]he ban passed at the height of the global warming fad-scare when all proper thinkers were supposed to sacrifice to the anticarbon gods." In fact, as Media Matters has noted, the law does not “ban” incandescent bulbs but simply restricts the sale of inefficient bulbs and has lead companies to develop numerous alternatives, including energy-efficient incandescents.

From The Wall Street Journal:

On January 1, 2012, seven months from this week, Washington will effectively ban the sale of conventional 100 watt incandescent light bulbs that Americans have used nearly since the days of Thomas Edison. Instead we will all be required to buy compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs. We'd like to believe that when the government decrees what kind of light bulbs you can screw into the lamp in your own bedroom, even liberals would be nervous about the nanny state.

Yet Republicans have so far shown little interest in voting on the “Bulb Act” cosponsored by Republicans Mike Enzi of Wyoming in the Senate and Joe Barton of Texas in the House. This would repeal the 2007 law, signed in one of his all-too typical late-term decisions by George W. Bush, that turns incandescent bulbs into contraband. The ban passed at the height of the global warming fad-scare when all proper thinkers were supposed to sacrifice to the anticarbon gods.

Previously:

Right-Wing Media Still Misinforming About Money-Saving, Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs

Conservative Media Push Misconception That Efficiency Standards Eliminate Light Bulb “Choice”

Electrical Manufacturers Denounce Media Coverage Of Light Bulb Standards

Fox's “Light Bulb Ban” Does Not Exist