Light Bulb Regulations Put On Hold for Nine Months

     As part of the government's recent spending bill, the Republicans in Congress inserted a piece of legislation that cuts the funding from the Energy Department to be able to enforce the new light bulb stnadards that are about start going into effect, for nine months anyway. This is a temporary reprieve, but probably won't change much, as the major light bulb manufacturers will continue along as they have been. Personally, I hope that these regulations are eventually repealed, but that is a long-shot. This is not progress, as the alternative bulbs do not offer the same quality of light as a conventional incandescent. They can get close, but they still differ, and the ones that are close cost a lot. Contrary to the claims of the advocates, incandescents are being outright banned in the U.S., just not immediately; in the short-term, the efficiency standards are just being increased (high-efficiency incandescents), but by 2020, incandescents will be banned (although I think this will be modifed if the price of the LEDs doesn't come down significantly by then): LINK
     From what I understand, it was actually the major lightbulb companies that lobbied for these higher-efficiency standards in the first place, because they wanted to force people to buy the alternative bulbs, as the regular incandescents are so cheap that the profit margin on them is very slim. If this is true (it is a fact that they lobbied for the higher-efficiency standards, but the companies official statement is probably that they did it out of care for the environment), then it is not surprising they are against any attempt at overturning or stalling the new legislation.
     The problem with the alternatives is that as it stands, aside from the high-efficiency incandescents, there is no known alternative that provides an equivalent quality of light to a regular incandescent bulb (and as said, the ones that get close are very costly). CFLs have the problems of not being dimmable or working well in the cold and of taking a bit of time to light up fully (unless again you're willing to pay a lot for the best CFLs), while LEDs have the problem of being directional light, which makes them fine for things like flashlights and headlamps, but for a general-purpose lightbulb meant to scatter light in all directions, it creates a problem. LEDs at the moment are also extremely costly (anywhere from $25 to $50 to $100 for bulbs that come close to matching a regular incandescent). The lightbulb industry thinks LEDs are the future of light and that their cost will come down rather quickly, I am skeptical of this though. Time will tell.
     What I really find ridiculous is how those criticizing the stall in the enforcement are saying that it is denying Americans more energy-efficient light bulbs that will save people money. It doesn't. People could buy those lightbulbs anytime they wish to. Allowing the original to stay wouldn't outlaw the alternative. If these alternaitve bulbs are really so superior, people would buy them and they would already be making the original incandescent obsolete. But people do not buy them because they cost too much and their light quality is inferior.
     Now in Europe, where the incandescents have been banned altogether, some are selling them as heaters (as technically, that's what conventional incandescent light bulbs are---heaters that produce some light; 95% of their energy is heat...only 5% is light). So if you sell conventional incandescents as heaters, you can say they are 95% efficient at their job! What I am wondering is, could someone start a company manufacturing conventional incandescents in the U.S. after they have been outlawed, but market them as heaters that happen to produce light...? I have a feeling the law would come down on the person...would it then go to the Courts? I could imagine the person having to prove that their "heaters" are really used as heaters and not just as an illegal way to manufacture conventional incandescents. Might be interesting to try though if one had the money to just start such a company.

Here are links to the websites selling incandecents as "heaters:"

Heatball (I love the little art graphic of the light bulb holding the sign on this site, looks hilarious)
Heatbulb

EDIT: Well as it turns out, the Heatballs were outlawed in the EU (rats!): LINK