http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45248744#.Tr0u52C4JL8

States' Rights Battle over Light Bulbs

Conservatives challenge the federal law requiring incandescent bulbs to be replaced with fluorescents and LEDs

By Chris Christoff


updated 11/10/2011 7:00:00 AM ET

The incandescent light bulb has been around for more than 130 years. But starting in January 2012, it will become a piece of history, pulled off the shelves in all 50 states—unless a group of fired-up conservatives manage to spark a mini-revolution over states’ rights.

In 2007, George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act, requiring light bulbs to be at least 28 percent more efficient by 2014. Three-way bulbs and some specialty versions are exempt, but otherwise the law virtually guarantees that LEDs and compact fluorescents will gradually replace incandescents, starting with 100-watt bulbs in January. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the result will be lower energy bills and less pollution. Some conservatives view it as a nanny-state power grab.

Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman and Presidential candidate, was one of the first national figures to fight for the right to light up a room Thomas Edison-style. In March she introduced the Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act, which sought to repeal the energy efficiency standards. Her bill went nowhere. In July her colleague, Representative Joe Barton (R-Tex.), gave it another try. His Better Use of Light Bulbs Act got 233 “yeasâ€