Innovation

In yet another case of the free market doing its thing, we have the Curious Case of the Incandescent Light Bulb:

When Congress passed a new energy law two years ago, obituaries were written for the incandescent light bulb. The law set tough efficiency standards, due to take effect in 2012, that no traditional incandescent bulb on the market could meet, and a century-old technology that helped create the modern world seemed to be doomed. But as it turns out, the obituaries were premature.

The 2012 law was supposed to take out "inefficient" incandescent light bulbs and, essentially, mandate CFL bulbs for all. This despite the presence of mercury in CFL bulbs that, when smashed (in a garbage dump, for instance) would leak the poisonous substance into the ground. Environmentalists seemed not to notice the irony.
Well now there's another alternative, thanks to the free market and the innovation of scientists at Phillips. The incandescent makes a comeback.

But they are also 30 percent more efficient than older bulbs. Philips says that a 70-watt Halogena Energy Saver gives off the same amount of light as a traditional 100-watt bulb and lasts about three times as long, eventually paying for itself.

At $5 a pop, they are a little more than 50% more expensive than CFLs, but they don't contain mercury and they don't have the harsh lighting characteristic of CFLs. Expect innovation to continue, prices to drop, and technology to improve even more before 2012.