(CNN) — It lit up the world and showed us all our way. It served presidents, princes, and paupers with equal alacrity. It brought the writings of Yeats, Joyce, Rowling, and Trudeau to millions of bed-readers, and helped countless people around the world avoid stubbing their toes in the dark.
And now, it is no more.
Farewell, traditional light bulb. As the clock strikes midnight, the light dims on your reign as the mechanical illuminator of human existence.
Rest in peace.
This was no sudden death. The diagnosis came in years ago, in 2007, when President George W. Bush signed a law to replace standard incandescents with more efficient bulbs. Much more. Only about 10% of the energy these traditional bulbs use is for light, the Environmental Protection Agency says.
75- and 100-watt bulbs were already banned this year. The ban on production of 40 and 60-watt bulbs — the most popular in the country — kicks in as 2014 begins.
