Now that House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (R–MI) has given his support, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are poised to repeal the 2007 law that will ban the sale of incandescent bulbs as of January 1, 2012. House Republicans introduced legislation to overturn the ban, which they consider to be unwarranted government intrusion in the lives of individual consumers, immediately after taking control of the US House of Representatives earlier this year, but Upton, a co-sponsor of the 2007 legislation, had not moved the issue to a vote.
Replacing incandescent bulbs with more modern, efficient varieties that can be more easily directed where needed would of course go a long way toward our goal of preserving Charlestown ’s dark skies. If Republicans are successful in overturning the ban, people will be able to continue using wasteful, light-spilling incandescent bulbs that interfere with stargazing.
A vote on the repeal is expected to take place sometime this summer.