How the EU marks a 70th Anniversary

Today is the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War, when Nazi Germany's Panzer tanks and troops rolled into Poland. If you're wanting to travel to Europe to remember the horrors that began on this day 70 years ago, leave your incandescent light bulbs at home.

A ban on the traditional 100-watt frosted light bulb has taken effect in the EU, making illegal its manufacture and import. Stores that have stocks may continue to sell them until they run out, in which case they are required to carry more energy-efficient light bulbs, those being halogen, fluorescent and LEDs. While EU Commissioner Andris Piebalgs of Latvia, the Commissioner of Energy, says switching the bulbs will result in households saving €50 (GB£44 or US$72) on energy costs annually by 2020, the British tabloid Daily Mail gave away coupons last week to encourage its readers to horde the bulbs before they became contraband. (An article from two weeks ago makes obvious their editorial standpoint.)

Concerns raised across Europe about the forced switchover include whether energy-saver bulbs work with dimmer switches, whether the light output decreases, and the risk of mercury poisoning from using fluorescent bulbs across the house. Oh, and the whole "Who's running my country, (nation's capital) or Brussels/Strasbourg?" debate.

Meanwhile, to prepare to mark the 70th anniversary of Britain's entry into WW2 this coming Thursday, Westminster has rekindled the spirit of rationing by way of increasing the tax on petrol by another two pence per litre (12.3¢ per gallon). This is the third hike this year, and is suggested to be both a revenue generator and effort to get more people in public transit. As such, the price of regular petrol (the equivalent of premium unleaded in the US) is now £1.089 per litre, or US$6.73 per gallon.

Let freedom wring.