How can you determine if your newspaper or television news editor is alert? See if print or TV outlets you watch cover the (sad) scheduled closing today of the last major General Electric Co. factory making incandescent light bulbs in the U.S., points out Grumpy Editor.
As part of the “green” movement, about 200 workers will lose their jobs with the shuttering of the 455,000-square-foot G.E. plant on 57 acres in Winchester, Va.
The plant closing is triggered by Washington lawmakers’ action that bans ordinary incandescent bulbs by 2014, forcing replacement mainly with compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs.
The small glass tubes, twisted into a spiral, are made overseas, mostly in China.
Those against CFLs frown on the use of mercury in the bulbs, which can cause problems when they shatter.
Development of the incandescent bulb goes back to the early 1800s.
It received a major thrust in 1878 when Thomas Edison began serious research into developing a practical incandescent lamp.
The inventor filed his first “improvement in electric lights” patent application in October, 1878. His first successful test came a year later.
Now, those highly-used and effective incandescent bulbs soon will become collectors’ items.