Fiat lux

I returned from four days in California this afternoon, and discovered a burned-out light bulb. Not just any light bulb, but the one screwed into that one lamp in the living room that I have hooked up to a timer. Supposedly, various burglars, vandals, squatters, cat nabbers, the criminally insane, the merely idle and curious -- all those apt to end up inside my house in my absence -- will be deterred and driven off by my display of one bright, shining light.

Well, that shining light burned out in my absence, so its deterring glow didn't have much deterrent effect. Nevertheless, I'm happy to report, the house was intact and the cats still alive.

But my point was going to be -- and indeed there was one -- that it was a 150 watt bulb that went kaput, and I don't have any spares. What I do have -- aside from 100 watt bulbs, one of which I'm now using as a temporary substitute -- are some of those new energy saving fluorescent bulbs that we've been urged to buy.

I've tried them in other rooms. I should remark, for those of you who don't know me, that I'm far from being a fussy interior decorator. My worn and uncoordinated furnishings have appalled normal folks of all ages, backgrounds and sectarian beliefs. But I do know the difference between a room that's a relaxing, softly-lit retreat from the world's cares, and one that's lit up like the produce section at Safeway.

As these new bulbs advertise, they offer me the equivalent of 100 watts of incandescent lighting at the cost of only 26 watts of power. And that's great. In a kitchen or basement or attic. But fluorescent lighting is not the equivalent of soft, incandescent lighting, and I prefer not having it in my living room. Not until they develop fluorescent lights that give off the same spectrum as the old, energy-consuming incandescent lamps.

So, I'm relieved to read in today's New York Times that the government has not -- despite what we have all been led to believe -- outlawed incandescent bulbs. The law simply encourages manufacturers to find ways to increase energy efficiency, whatever the technology adopted. And manufacturers are doing so, finding ways to make even incandescent bulbs more efficient.

I'm a Sierra Club member. I'm as worried as you about looming energy shortages as the world develops. I have no interest in Glenn Beck's fulminations against the "nanny state," or his exhortations to hoard incandescent bulbs. In the years to come, conservation needs may force us to adopt many measures that now strike us as outrageous. I will cheerfully submit to them, in pursuit of the common good. But I'm relieved to read that -- at least, for now -- incandescent bulbs will remain on store shelves and shine expensively in our homes.

And I'll drop by the store tomorrow, and buy myself a couple of 150 watt-ers.