Because it’s much better to poison workers than to use a little extra energy and add a little CO2 to the atmosphere.
The Associated Press reports,
BEIJING (AP) — China will phase out power-draining light bulbs within five years in a move to make the world’s biggest polluting nation more efficient…
China will ban imports and sales of 100-watt-and-higher incandescent bulbs from Oct. 1, 2012, in an attempt to save energy and curb climate change, China’s main planning agency said Friday.
Bans will also be imposed on 60-watt-and-higher bulbs from Oct. 1, 2014 and 15-watt-and-higher old-style bulbs from Oct. 1, 2016. The time frame of the last step may be adjusted according to an evaluation in September 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission statement said…
Last year, 3.85 billion incandescent light bulbs were produced in China and 1.07 billion of them were sold domestically, the agency said. Power consumption for lighting is estimated to be about 12 percent of China’s total electricity use, it said.
The statement said China will save 48 billion kilowatt hours of power per year and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 48 million tonnes annually once the bulbs are phased out.
This move will increase demand for compact fluoroescent lightbulbs that are made in China and are poisoning Chinese workers.
Read the Associated Press article.
Related reading:
China’s environmental actions have always been about appearances, but it makes more sense than in America.
The higher costs will act as a slowdown on the electrical grid expansion, which will slow down their rapid power plant building spree.
Due to less appliance and industrial usage, light bulbs are a significantly greater fraction of their electrical usage, so the energy savings will be real, not unmeasurable.