U.S. To Join 'Ban The Bulb' Movement

January 4, 2008 7:37 p.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The United States is expected to join the "ban the bulb" movement, which would be a significant victory in the battle to fight global climate change. Europe and China are also expected to copy Australia, which is phasing out incandescent light bulbs by 2010, replacing them with fluorescents that use only one-fourth as much electricity.

"The world may be approaching a tipping point on a political initiative that can drop world electricity use by nearly 12 percent, enabling us to close 705 coal-fired power plants," said Lester Brown from the Earth Policy Institute. Brown's new book, "Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization" says a brave new world is already upon us.

Brown cited recent American efforts to conserve tillage, which helped reduce soil erosion by 40 percent and expand grain output by more than one-fifth.

Gas-electric hybrid cars with an enhanced battery and a plug-in capacity, combined with wind farms feeding cheap electricity into the grid, permit daily driving at a cost equivalent to less than $1-a-gallon gasoline, Brown says.