Bid to ban common light bulb

A Californian politician wants the state to be the first in the US to ban the common light bulb.

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said compact fluorescent light bulbs are so efficient that consumers should be forced to use them.

The bulbs use a quarter the energy of a conventional light, and some electric utilities give them away to customers.

Levine wants common bulbs banned by 2012.

“Incandescent light bulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications,” Levine said. “It is time to take a step forward.”

Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is known for pushing laws that favour the environment, has not yet taken a position on the Bill.