Dim Bulbs Dither As Military Doubles Down On Climate Change

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As far as the US Department of Defense is concerned, climate change is a done deal, but you wouldn’t know that if you were wandering the halls of Congress the other day. Instead of legislating national policy in the interests of a strong national defense, the usual suspects were hard at work on preserving…century-old lighting technology. Good job, guys!

Yes, the light bulb ban is once again a priority for certain conservative legislators, who have been working off and on for the past several years to repeal the part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that sets new efficiency standards for light bulb manufacturers.

The new standards effectively mean it’s lights out for conventional incandescent bulbs, which waste 90 percent of their energy in the form of heat.

light bulb ban
Light bulb (cropped) by wheany.

Waving The Light Bulb Ban Banner

We’ve been following the light bulb preservationists since the phase-in of the new standards began in 2011. The preservationist movement started out as a loud, long call to arms but it began to lose steam as the phase-in took hold, and when the last deadline passed on January 1 there was barely a whisper in defense of the old bulbs.

Well, it looks like those brave champions of wastefulness were just taking a breather. Our friends over at TheHill.com have alerted us that the light bulb torch has been passed to Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-South Carolina), who has just introduced H.R. 3818 repealing the relevant section of the 2007 energy act.

To be fair, according to Hill reporter Pete Kasperowicz there doesn’t seem to be much interest in supporting H.R. 3818 beyond Duncan and Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), who made an impassioned statement in support of the old bulbs, although it seems he lost his way at some point with a quote from legendary musician Willie Nelson suggesting he has already given up the fight:

As Willie Nelson has said: ‘Turn out the lights, the party’s over. They say that all good things must end. Turn out the lights, the party’s over,’ for at least Thomas Edison’s light bulb.

The Dragnet Perspective On Climate Change

In contrast, let’s take a look at what the US military is saying about the need for effective action on climate change, through the window of a recent briefing attended by newly minted Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey).

We happened to catch an interview with Senator Booker yesterday on WSOU, the hard rock station that broadcasts out of Seton Hall University, conducted by station manager Erin O’Grady.


When asked by O’Grady to describe the transition from Mayor of Newark to becoming a US Senator, Booker mentioned the briefing and he zeroed in on climate change. This is what he had to say, apparently channeling Joe Friday:

 ….as a US Senator you’ve got to be up and on top of military issues…I was amazed at one of them, [who] was telling me, ‘look, we don’t debate climate change, we just prepare to deal with the facts.’

And if the military is not prepared for rising sea waters, and if the military is not prepared to find alternative fuels and energy  so supply chains shouldn’t be getting endangered in a crisis [and don’t] undermine our defense capabilities, then we’re going to be lost.

So hearing a general say, ‘hey look, we’re doing the logical thing based on the facts, from biofuels to finding ways to conserve energy and reduce carbon output,’ that’s to me the kind of practical thinking we should be having all over our society right now.

…Let’s just do what the facts compel us to do.

The above is an unofficial transcript and if you want to check out the SoundCloud audio for yourself it starts at 11:40. Also for the record, Dragnet’s fictional detective Joe Friday did not utter the famous line, “Just the facts, ma’am.” He said, “All we want are the facts.”

Support Our Troops!

Booker touched a lot of bases with those brief comments in terms of what the Department of Defense is doing to develop a leaner carbon profile.

We’d also like to note that portable solar power and other forms of new energy technology are being integrated into forward operating bases and field maneuvers by the US Army and Marine Corps.

In tandem with new fuels and new technologies, “culture change” and “energy informed culture” are the kinds of words being used by top-level officials to describe how they expect military personnel to adjust their habits and behavior to get the most out of new energy technologies and help drive down dependency on fossil fuels.

As for Rep. Sessions and Rep. Poe, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they just didn’t get the memo.

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Tina Casey

Tina specializes in advanced energy technology, military sustainability, emerging materials, biofuels, ESG and related policy and political matters. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on LinkedIn, Threads, or Bluesky.

Tina Casey has 3275 posts and counting. See all posts by Tina Casey