Yesterday, Toshiba ended its manufacture of mass-market incandescent light bulbs–bulbs that use a ton of energy, burn out quickly and pale in comparison in terms of energy efficiency to CFLs and LEDs. The move ends the company’s 120-year history of incandescent bulb production. The decision signals that the lighting industry is poised to become significantly greener.
Toshiba initially planned to halt production of incandescent next year, but decided to push the date up. The company now aims to focus on creating LED lights, which are significantly more energy efficient than incandescent. Incandescent have drawn criticism from environmentalists in recent years because most of the power they consume is released as heat, so they need to use a ton of energy to produce light. Plus, the bulbs burn out quickly when compared to CFLs and LEDs.
The death of incandescent is proof that consumer choices and sound legislation can quickly and effectively improve the state of the environment. Australia started regulating the sale of incandescent bulbs last year, and countries like the EU and US are poised to implement regulations over the next few years. Now if only the world could adopt legislation to limit carbon emissions…
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