Improved light bulbs have led to huge decreases in residential energy use. Changes to federal standards, however, will likely stymie future progress.

Nadja Popovich writes about the evolution of light bulbs and their contribution to decreases in U.S. energy use. Incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent bulbs are being replaced with LED bulbs, which use up to 85 percent less energy than older bulbs and can last for 25 years.
In 2012, new efficiency standards for light bulbs kicked in, requiring that new bulbs use 28 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs. "The switch to more efficient lighting has been relatively rapid, Dr. [Lucas] Davis said, because of the short lifespan of traditional light bulbs," notes Popovich.
But industry group are fighting additional regulations set to start next year that prohibit the sale of light bulbs that give off less than 45 lumens per watt. In addition, the Department of Energy announced last month that it was rolling back regulations that would have made decorative bulbs subject to the same standards.
FULL STORY: America’s Light Bulb Revolution

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Seattle Safe Parking Site to Close, Relocate
A nonprofit leases lots during permitting stages to erect tiny homes and RV safe parking sites for unhoused residents. But the model means constant uncertainty and displacement.

LA ‘Mobility Wallet’ Increased Quality of Life for Participants
The city distributed a monthly $150 transportation subsidy to 1,000 low-income Angelenos. It dramatically improved their lives.

Texas, California Rail Projects Seek Out Private Funding
In the wake of Trump’s cuts to high-speed rail projects, rail authorities are looking to private-public partnerships to supplement their budgets.
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