Smithsonian.com

California may soon have an answer that is no joke. State assembly member Lloyd E. Levine recently introduced legislation that would ban the sale of old-school incandescent bulbs in California by 2012. 
New, energy-efficient, compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) would take their place. The Department of Energy says that CFLs are four times more efficient than their incandescent predecessors, that they last up to ten times longer and that they can save you bundles of cash over their lifetime.
Just days away from the release of a major international report on climate change, the introduced legislation suggests a way individuals can use less energy and reduce the polluting greenhouse gases emitted from power plants. Because there’s no need to wait on the punchline before making a change.