Brighter future

Australia has decided to ban old-school incandescent light bulbs. This is an excellent decision, as the modern fluorescent ones last much longer and are thus more efficient. This decision will undoubtedly be well received in the Ban the Bulb -movement that has campaigned for a similar decision in the UK, although focusing more on trying to sway the consumers to make the environmentally friendly choice.

This decision stems from the growing awareness of the effects of carbon emissions to the environment, and follows the recent decision made by the Spanish authorities, by which every new and renovated house will soon need to be equipped with a solar panel. So, there's a shift to more environmentally friendly way to producing energy, Australians are trying to get more efficient in using it, and we can all easily try to use a bit less of it. It's not that difficult to turn off those lights and get those TV:s and other gadgets off the stand-by.

Meanwhile, the Finnish government is worried that cutting carbon emissions will lead to loss of jobs in the Finnish heavy industry. Luckily the elections are only a couple of weeks away.

Edit: the ministers of environment of the EU have just agreed on a unilateral 20% emission reduction goal by 2020, and have also decided to push forward an international 30% reduction plan.

(Pic: www.cs.utexas.edu)