It had to happen. Idiots making laws have to be shown up at some point. Their rush to CFLs was ill-advised, as they give off gases which only a dry cleaner could love, some when they are not even on. LEDs just are awful to read by. I am a incandescent hoarder, I love the warmth they give off in winter, allowing me to be warm and keep the heat set lower when just sitting.
I think Rand had it pegged in "Anthem", the ultimate goal has nothing to do with environment, and a whole lot to do with control of citizens. Take more and more ligting, food choices, banking choices away, and soon we are citizens of a shiny gulag.

There are many factors involved here. For example the energy cost of manufacturing LED and Compact Fluorescent lights is enormous when compared to that for incandescent lamps. Also there are some safety issues. Both LED and CFL lights have a tendency to flicker. This can cause a stroboscopic effect that makes their use near rotating machinery dangerous. And then the is the question of the spectrum produced by such lights. Incandescent lamps produce a uniform spectrum called "black body radiation" that is perceived as white light. LED's and CFL's produce the illusion of white light by the mixing of phosphors that emit red blue and green light in the presence of deep blue or ultraviolet radiation. It's not the same thing. Having a selective coating on the inside of an incandescent bulb that reflects the infrared back to the filament while passing visible light is an old idea but, until now, no one had been able to find a way to manufacture such bulbs at a reasonable price. This discovery could change that. Very nice work MIT.

From the news release:
"The work was supported by the Army Research Office through the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, and the S3TEC Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy."
http://news.mit.edu/2016/nanophotonic...

It is an inevitability of any project taken over by the government that it will fail, reduce new discoveries or mismanage whatever it is.

Hello Kittyhawk,
I would not have believed it until it happened to me, but some of these new bulbs including some fluorescent ones give me migraine headaches. After suffering for a couple of years I installed some new electronic ballasts, wide spectrum bulbs and new opaque diffusers in my office and no more headaches at the end of the day. I still use an incandescent bulb at home for reading. Before they disappeared off the shelves I stocked up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pNKz...
Respectfully,
O.A.

Thank You, KH! . this is the kind of stuff which we should
shove up the a$$ of the regulators in November! -- j
.

Anytime the camel-nose of the federal government pushes it's nose under the tent edge of private business it won't be long until business gets humped.

In the case of this over-reaching administration there's nothing they have felt restricted from their grasp. Any politician who could make the speeches the present POTUS has made over the past month should be drug out of the lectern and face impeachment for treason.

The entire congress needs to go out to Richard Nixon's graveside and apologize for their ineptness at allowing BO to still be in office.

Incandescent bulbs give off light in proportion to the temperature of the filament. If it doesnt waste heat, and keeps the filament hot using less input energy and allowing less to escape- thats a boon for incandescent technology.

Well! finally someone in that uber-liberal institution has a glimmer of common sense. This whole thing about going to those bogus energy efficient, mercury laden bulbs that you need a hazmat license in order to dispose has finally dawned on the intelligentsia. Now it looks like someone is ready to go back to incandescent bulbs (almost like back to the future!). Unfortunately that is probably not the case, just another pitch for more government money to be thrown like a bone to academia to keep them thinking global warming, etc.

Remember, tungsten is also a strategic metal.

Agreed...had to go to extremes with CFL's to get sufficient light...ganging them in threes via adapters but in the end...they kinda made me feel sick and I began to lose my usual get up and go.
LED's look bright but the light doesn't shine very far like trying to read by star light.
So, at the "merchandise on the way out stores"- odd lots, job lots, etc I have been stocking up on incandescent's...the only problem with them is longevity...especially the one's from china.
So to the bigger question...governments and regulators are just plain dumb or corrupt...most times both...stay home and re-read your "Dick and Jane" books.

just another aspect of government interfering in our lives. more to come!

Very interesting. I am skeptical that incandescent light bulbs can be efficient as LEDs And the title is misleading. The article never actually makes that point.

Also Jeffery Tucker and FEE's war or property rights for inventors is worse than the government regulation they are talking about.