Russia has jumped on the CFL bandwagon, and decided to ban the incandescent bulb.

As of January 1, 2014, the manufacture and sale of all incandescent bulbs will be prohibited in Russia. The process initiates on January 1, 2011, when Edison bulbs over 100 W will get the ax. Two years later, all bulbs over 75 W will disappear, and by 2014, the process will be complete. According to senior Kremlin economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich, the “second and third stages” (the targets for 2013 & 2014) will not be “fixed rigidly in law.” Dvorkovich added that, “We need to see how the first stage works…but I think this timetable is entirely realistic.”

The Russian ban coincides with similar legislation in the EU and US. The EU ban will be complete by 2012, while the US ban commences in '12, and completes in '14.

This is a very alarming development, with disturbing implications. We’re barreling down a slippery slope here. German consumers frantically horded incandescent bulbs ahead of the ban—thus nullifying (at least temporarily) the purported energy savings. Thus, it only follows that the “logical” move is to make possession of incandescents a felonious offense.