Why we take a dim view on being forced to accept energy-saving ideas

HOW many Greens does it take to change the entire nation’s light bulbs? Just one. Minister for the Environment John Gormley is the man about to pull off that remarkable feat.

He is also the chap who is leading a 19-strong delegation that is representing the country at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, of all places, but we’ll get to that later.

Mr Gormley has decreed, in the first “carbon budget”, that from January 2009 it won’t be possible to buy an incandescent light bulb, the type that most of you light your homes with. Instead, you will have to purchase a CFL or LCD lightbulb, at a potentially much higher price, every time you want to replace a blown bulb.