www.banthebulb.org |
Campaign Archive: (Feb 05 to present)
Campaign Goals: 1. Create a deadline for action Ban the sale of incandescents by specific dates Ban 60W + 100W incandescents first (bayonet + screw) Ban other incandescent designs later 2. Remove the price advantage of incandescents Increase the cost of incandescent light bulbs Reduce the sales tax (VAT) on CFLs from 17.5% to 5% 3. Help the poor Help the poor to replace their incandescents Help the poor to save money on their energy bills 4. Encourage responsible recycling Encourage the responsible recycling of CFLs Encourage fair + adequate funding for recycling Encourage discussions amongst recycling stakeholders 5. Encourage + strengthen supporting legislation Include light bulbs in the EU's Eco Directive Explain the pros + cons of the EU's RoHS Directive 6. Propose appriopriate exemptions Make the case for appropriate medical and specialist exemptions 7. Encourage continued innovation Propose that technology neutral "watts per lumen" criteria should be included in ban legislation Propose "watts per lumen per m2" as further criteria Highlight promising technologies as they emerge 8. Encourage energy efficiency and conservation Explain the benefits of greater energy efficiency Explain the benefits of turning things off Accelerate the uptake of available technologies 9. Use LEDs to set energy performance standards LEDs offer a 90% energy saving CFLs offer a 65-80% energy saving High efficiency incandescents offer a 25% saving Incandescents offer 0% energy saving Banning incandescent light bulbs would... Save 2 to 5 Million tonnes of CO2 per year in the UK Save 23 to 53 Million tonnes of CO2 per year in the EU Global Energy Use: Thanks to...OilPrice.com Links: BBC "Green Room" 3 Feb 06 Light bulbs: Not such a bright idea Comments BBC "Green Room" 21 April 06 Shedding light on call to ban bulb Comments BBC "Green Room" 20 Oct 06 Where have all the leaders gone? Comments BBC article 29 Jun 06 Lighting the key to energy saving IEA : Lights Labour Lost report BBC article 2 Nov 06 Bulbs must be efficient by 2009 BBC "Green Room" 19 Jan 07 The need for ambition + imagination Stern Review: Summary Guardian article 1 Feb 07 Should I replace incandescents now? Worldwatch: Effects of WEEE Directive BBC article 31 Jan 07 Plan to ban light bulbs... in California Nine MSN article 20 Feb 07 Plan to ban light bulbs... in Australia BBC article 20 Feb 07 Australia pulls plug on old bulbs Courier Mail article 21 Feb 07 See the light Turnbull EurActiv article 21 Feb 07 How many EU members does it take to change a light bulb? Guardian article 22 Feb 07 Should we ban these bulbs? Scotsman article 24 Feb 07 How many light bulbs does it take to change the world? Daily Mail article 10 Mar 07 EU switches off our old light bulbs BBC "Green Room" 16 July 07 Sex sells, but at what cost? The Guardian article 27 Sept 07 UK to phase out 150W, 100W + 60W bulbs The Guardian article 27 Sept 07 Ban The Bulb? International Light Bulb Campaigns 18 Seconds (US) Greenpeace India : BTB petition (India) www.banthebulb.co.uk (UK: unaffiliated) Campaigns One Watt Initiative (IEA) One Billion Bulbs (US) Big Green Switch (UK) Eco Portal Eco Earth Info (US) References Homestayfinder: How CFLs work MPs' Letters: EU light bulb rules Wikipedia: Ozone Depletion EU: Kyoto Protocol Lighting Industry Federation >LIF: Lamp Guide 2001 pdf UK Climate Change Programme >UK CCP: Review pdf UK Market Transformation Programme ECCP Report 2001 pdf European Lamp Companies Federation DTI: WEEE Directive Energy Saving Trust GE: Soft White Dimmable CFLs Cubans + Jamaicans hand out free CFLs ELCFED FAQs Lighting Advice Energy Saving Trust Lighting Bulb ratings Lighting choices Low energy fittings Save Your 20% Customer Utility Services Light bulb suppliers lightbulbs.co.uk Just LED Direct Trade Supplies Light Rabbit Light Rabbit : Commercial AVR LED Track Lighting Bulb Buddy Energy Bulb Synergy Lighting USA (USA) Express Light Bulbs LED Light Bulbs LED Lighting Supplier eco LED Light E-Leds EcoPal (Ireland) LED Lights LED Tape Eco St LED Eco Lights Light Bulb Planet Green Led LineLite First Light Direct Lamps On Line UltraLEDS (UK) LiteBulbs Bright Green Technology (signs) Eco Friendly Light Bulbs Go Green Lights (UK) Energy Saving World (UK) Light Bulbs Direct (UK) Better Generation (UK) Efficient Light (UK) Ultima (UK) Megaman (UK) Amazon.Com (US) The Bulbman (US) LED Online [LEDs] (UK) OptoSource [LEDs] (UK) CyberLux [LEDs] (US) Androv Medical (UK) BestBulb (UK) The Light Bulb (UK) Solar Solar Power Centre (UK) Intelligent Energy Solutions (UK) Solar Insiders (UK) Solar Gadget Store (UK) Select Solar Panels (UK) Energy Saving Advice Conserve Energy (UK) Intelligent Energy Solutions (UK) Solar Security Solar Security Solutions (UK) Energy Company Advice Good Energy Shop (UK) Home Energy Generation / Storage Cyber Energy (UK) Low carbon technology sites The Solar Centre (UK) Price comparison sites Business Electricity Prices (UK) Business Gas Prices (UK) USwitch: Business Energy (UK) Home Advisory Service (UK) UK Power (UK) Business Gas (UK) Business Electricity (UK) Solar Price Comparison Services Talk Solar Panels (UK) Talk Solar Boilers (UK) Solar Quote Provider (UK) Solar Lighting Lux Outdoor Ligting (UK) The Eco Experts (UK) http://www.theecoexperts.co.uk Light bulb history An overview 1809 Humphrey Davy (Arc lamp) 1820 Warren De la Rue (vacuum + wire) 1879 Edison and Swan (carbon + cotton) 1880 Edison (carbon + bamboo) 1898 Karl Auer (osmium) 1903 Siemens/Halske (tantalum) 1906 to 10 GEC/William Coolidge (tungsten) Fluorescent light and lamp history 1857 Becquerel (fluorescence) 1901 Cooper Hewitt (mercury vapour lamp) 1934 Germer (high pressure lamp) 1970s Anderson + Hollister (electrodeless) 1976 Edward Hammer (spiral lamp) Mercury + Fluorescent Lights Efficiency Vermont Michigan Dept. of Env. Quality Energy Efficiency Advice EU Energy Label Refrigeration Laundry Dishwashers Boilers Insulation + Windows Find recommended products (UK) Generate your own energy General advice Solar Photovoltaics Solar water heating Heat pumps Small scale wind Small scale hydro Biomass Press coverage The Guardian 7 Dec 05 BBC News Online 'Green Room' 3 Feb 06 BBC Radio 4 'Broadcasting House' 5 Feb 06 Austrian Broadcasting Corp. 7 Feb 06 BBC Radio Wales 8 Feb 06 BBC News Online 8 Feb 06 The Hindustan Times editorial The Guardian "Campaign O.T.W. " 21 Feb 06 BBC Radio Essex 22 Feb 06 Interesting energy ideas... Option 10 (UK) Light Up The World (Can) TVEC.org (UK) Downshifting Path (UK) Cent. for Alt. Tech. (Wales) Patio Heaters Are Evil (UK) NGOs Friends of the Earth Greenpeace International Natural Resources Defense Council New Economics Foundation WWF Renewable Energy Businesses Select Solar Solar Century Climate Change Carbon Trust Climate Stability 2005 DEFRA Hadley Centre IPCC Met Office Pew Centre Tyndall Centre UK Energy Research Centre UNFCCC Reports National Audit Office > report Environmental Blogs Alternative Energy Blog Dangerousmeta! Earth Blog Earth Info Energy: Action Envirotech George Monbiot Greenpeace Weblog Gristmill Mark Lynas Meta Efficient One Change Real Climate Rebecca Blood Sierra Club Scoop World Changing Ethical Expert © matt prescott
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Sunday, August 26, 2012Ban The Bulb : The End of the Beginning...
Creating A Goal and Deadline for Action
This is a big day for the Ban The Bulb campaign, which was started via this blog in early 2005.
When this campaign was founded, the idea of phasing out and banning incandescent light bulbs after 120 years of loyal service appeared both laughable and almost impossible.
However, the case for action was compelling and the Ban The Bulb campaign set out to make this case.
Initially, the Ban The Bulb campaign concentrated on making the case for using compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) which cost more to buy, but then use 60% - 70% less electricity over the whole of their 5 - 10 times longer lifetimes. As others technologies have been refined it has also become possible to start recommending other technologies, such as LEDs as viable alternatives... and in many ways it is amazing how much has been possible in so little time! A Virtuous Circle Interestingly, once politicians started to show an interest in phasing out incandescent light bulbs, retailers started to demand better energy saving designs from manufacturers and governments started to encourage energy companies to subsidise compact fluorescent lamps in shops rather then distribute unrequested lamps directly to households. A virtuous circle of individual, mutually supporting measures started to alter what looked possible for everyone. These early stirrings of action were crucial and helped to show that another world was possible and that different players were willing to act. No-one likes to change the way they do things on their own, and this momentum and mutual support played an important role in enabling the bigger moves which quickly started to look possible. Success Breeds Success In Feb 2006, the BBC News website invited the Ban The Bulb campaign to outline why phasing out incandescent light bulbs was a good idea and to address some of the common questions that frequently arise. By mid 2006, countries with chronic power shortages such as Cuba and Venezuela had started to swap incandescents with CFLs in poor suburbs, as a way of keeping their lights on. These moves were important national scale efforts, but did not involve bans. As far as we can tell, the use of a light bulb ban was first seriously floated by a politician in early 2007, when Prime Minister Tony Blair asked the European Commission to consider a light bulb ban as a way of meeting ambitious goals to cut carbon emissions by 20% by 2020. This request carried relatively little political risk, as any success would be bigger and any failure the EU's fault, but still mattered at the time. While all of this was happening an Assembly Member in California called Lloyd Levine and an Australian Environment Minister called Malcolm Turnbull announced state and national plans for light bulb bans, which were supported by Philips. All of sudden, politicians were racing to claim the credit for banning light bulbs, a truly incredible state of affairs given this was only a couple of years into the Ban The Bulb campaign. Fortunately, the EU has gradually come through and put in place the most widespread bans to have actually been delivered anywhere in the world. Interestingly, the Chinese have also been especially bold, perhaps in ways that have proven pivotal, and announced plans both to stop producing incandescent light bulbs and seize the emerging business opportunities associated with light emitting diodes (LEDs) - thereby turning what had been seen as a negative into a commercial imperative. Changing the Rules of the Game Almost every household appliance, including fridges, TVs and ovens, already exists in a form that uses 50% - 80% less energy than the most common designs... as was the case with light bulbs, when this campaign was founded. This means that we do not have to wait for any new technologies to be invented or decades for the next generation of power stations to be built, we simply need to bring existing technologies into widespread and cheaper use. As light bulbs have shown, markets do not change by magic, they change as a result of laws being made. However, once you decide to change the rules of the game, manufacturers will innovate, retailers will offer new products and economies of scale will allow prices to drop. Without changing the rules, players will carry on playing to the established parameters and very little will ever change. The End of The Beginning... The process of phasing out light bulbs has had its fair share of ups and downs, but now bans have been put in place in 30 countries around the world, the next generation of technologies have plummeted in price and it has become normal to buy LEDs which use 90% less electricity to make the same amount of light... are fully dimmable... and produce a daylight spectrum of light. None of this would have happened for many more years, if it were not for the bans that have forced all manufacturers, retailers, consumers and thus markets to change and to adapt. This single fact should give us all hope that we will face up to the even bigger energy challenges that remain to be addressed - particularly in relation to mainstreaming energy efficiency and driving innovation. Now we need to build on this success by using laws to ensure that within our lifetimes all cars, houses and household appliances will use 80% - 90% less energy to meet our needs, and ensure that more energy efficient products are made affordable through mass adoption and economies of scale. We also need to make sure that every single CFL now in use is properly recycled! Acknowledgements Over the years, a large number of impressive people have emerged in every sector and organisation BTB has dealt with, and Ban The Bulb would like to acknowledge the efforts of Jon Dee in Australia and Greenpeace in India. The Daily Mail even distributed free CFLs at one stage! A fuller list of acknowledgements can be seen here. The overwhelming majority of consumers have been much more open to change and flexible than is generally assumed, once the case for change has been made and serious efforts have been made to ensure that the new technologies are cheap and easy to use. Aiming Higher All future predictions for energy demand assume that we will continue to use ever larger amounts of energy, until oil and gas run out, and that we will continue to waste energy on a prolific basis. We don't have to continue wasting precious resources and polluting the environment without trying to save energy and clearly it is both technically feasible and economic sensible to bring many new technologies into use. I therefore hope that the successful transformation of domestic lighting within 7 years will encourage you to do your bit to help humanity aim higher... Posted 9:05 AM by Matt Prescott
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