by Christopher Mims. Congresscritters who love inefficiency, waste and air pollution — or at least the money that comes from industries that do — attached a rider to the spending bill yesterday evening that will reverse an earlier law to phase out crappy old-style lightbulbs . The crazy thing is that the ban is still in effect , and the new legislation just means it can't be enforced in 2012. For “give me incandescents or give me death” types to win, Congress will have to either reverse the law entirely or keep passing resolutions to stop enforcing it, year after year. Sounds like a great use of their time! Nostalgics and people who write for business magazines are super excited about their success in “banning the ban,” but their celebrations are premature, says The New York Times . [T]he lighting industry and major retailers have already invested heavily in offering bulbs to meet the new standards, signed into law in 2007 by President George W. Bush, and are unlikely to shift course now. That “moving forward” includes new — incandescent! — bulbs that are exactly like the old ones, except they use 28 percent less power. So I guess everyone wins?

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Death of ‘lightbulb ban’ greatly exaggerated

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