Bulb Fiction

In 2007, Greenpeace had 10,000 light bulbs destroyed in front of the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin with a road roller. This action could not have been possible with energy-saving lamps: the mercury contained in 10,000 compact fluorescent lamps is enough to contaminate 50 million liters of drinking water – apart from the acute health hazards for activists and spectators.

Let’s save energy, whatever the cost. The European Commission in Brussels banned incandescent light bulbs and forced all EU citizens to buy compact fluorescent lamps containing mercury. The documentary “Bulb Fiction” shows, why these measures marketed as “win, win, win”-situation by the industry, public policy officials and NGOs turned out to be expensive, a health hazard and questionable for citizens.

As of September 2009, incandescent bulbs with 100W and more are prohibited, as from September 2011, the 60W lamps disappear, and from September 2012 there is no longer a single bulb in the EU. High-voltage halogen lamps are prohibited from autumn 2016 onwards.

How could it come to this?