Unless sharper minds prevail, the U.S. House of Representatives today is expected to eliminate lighting efficiency standards that former President George W. Bush signed into law in 2007.

Those standards have helped usher in a new wave of super-efficient, power-saving light bulbs by dimming the switch on incandescent ones, even though those older bulbs remain popular among some Americans.

After turning back the clock, the House will be free to help bring back the horse and buggy and ice boxes. After all, some people are fond of buggies and ice boxes, even if most people prefer modern automobiles and refrigerators.

The pending action by the Republican-controlled House defies logic and reason, but rationality doesn't seem to guide many of its decisions. Instead, the House is driven by the histrionics of conspiracy theorists, who have popularized the notion that sales of compact fluorescent bulbs are part of some government-industry plot.

The law in question is the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which effectively phased out incandescent bulbs by setting timelines on sale of bulbs that are far more efficient.

The law gave a big boost to compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs and, more recently, light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. Both cost more but last far longer than incandescent bulbs. Both also use far less energy to generate the same amount of light.

Consumer Reports says an LED bulb can save a household more than $300 over the lifetime of the bulb. In wide usage, CFL and LED bulbs could help retire old, dirty power plants and prevent the need to build new ones, reducing pollution and reliance on troublesome forms of energy, such as coal, nuclear and imported oil.

In February, a USA Today/Gallup poll asked Americans if the bulb phase-out legislation was good or bad. Some 61 percent said it was good, and only 31 thought it was bad. But those 31 percent, whipped up by dim-bulb radio and TV commentators, have gotten the House's attention, for all the wrong reasons.

One rap against CFLs and LEDs is the quality of their lighting. That might have been an issue with early rollouts, but the latest products are far better, with a range of options for any kind of fixture.

The other rap against CFLs is the mercury they contain. True, consumers need to be careful not to break these bulbs and they need to dispose of them properly. But the latter is pretty easy to do. (In Sacramento, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Ikea and Orchard Supply Hardware are some of the stores that take back old CFLs for recycling.) And since CFLs help reduce the nation's power demand, they reduce mercury released from coal-powered electric plants, a major source of this toxic metal.

Although the House action – led by Rep. Joe Barton of Texas – is unlikely to be mimicked by the Senate, it is an unnecessary distraction and part of a series of anti-environment bills that House Republicans have championed.

By rolling back groundbreaking energy standards, this chamber would have us go back to the dark ages.

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