SAN DIEGO — Is it lights out for one of mankind's greatest inventions?

Rising energy costs and environmental concerns are threatening to snuff out the common incandescent light bulb, Thomas Edison's creation that changed the world.

California lawmakers are expected to vote soon on legislation that could make the state the first in the nation to ban sales of incandescent light bulbs. Starting in 2012, retailers would be allowed to sell only more energy-efficient bulbs such as compact fluorescents. Low-wattage and small bulbs, such as Christmas lights, would be exempt.

But it's not just West Coast tree-huggers trying to pull the plug on the light bulbs that have been standard for more than 125 years.

Australia and Canada recently passed similar legislation that will take effect in two years. And since the introduction of California legislation, lawmakers in at least two other states, Connecticut and Rhode Island, have begun considering bans.

In Texas, proposed legislation would require that standard bulbs in every state office and public school be replaced by fluorescents or light-emitting diodes beginning this year. New Jersey also is considering banning incandescents from public buildings.

"The real purpose is to set a good example at the state level and draw attention . . . to the availability of lower-wattage options," said Rep. Mark Strama, the Austin Democrat who proposed the Texas bill. "Hopefully the state can light a path for consumers."

Sensing the groundswell, Congress is working with light bulb manufacturers and environmentalists on energy-efficiency standards that could force a phaseout of incandescents within a decade and ban them from federal office buildings within three years.

Under a bill approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this month, the government might even put a kind of bounty on today's light bulbs, offering up to $20 million in prizes for anybody who can develop more efficient ones.

Prize or no prize, manufacturers are already abandoning the standard bulbs that fill some 4 billion sockets in the United States alone.

In March, Philips Lighting Co., the world's largest light bulb maker, said it plans to quit selling incandescents by 2016. The world's two other big bulb makers, General Electric Co. — the company that Edison started — and Osram Sylvania also are working on a variety of new lights designed to eventually replace standard incandescents.

California Assembly member Lloyd Levine, who kicked off the ban-the-bulb movement among U.S. lawmakers when he proposed his legislation in February, said, "The initial reaction from people was, 'What the (heck) does he think he's doing?'

"But as this idea is getting worldwide attention," he said, people "are now saying, 'Hey, this makes sense.' "

The bulb debate is no small matter: Lighting accounts for more than 20 percent of the nation's electricity use.

But standard bulbs are inefficient. At least 90 percent of the energy they use is simply wasted as heat.

Those twisty compact fluorescent bulbs cost more at the cash register, but they convert about 75 percent of current into light. As a result, each bulb can save homeowners $50 over its expected lifespan of about 10,000 hours — about 10 times longer than incandescents.

Government officials say that if the United States switched from incandescents to compact fluorescents, it would reduce the nation's electricity costs more than $18 billion a year, eliminate the need for 80 coal-fired power plants and cut 158 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

LEDs, often clustered in traffic lights or billboards, can be even more efficient. Some LEDs last 10 to 100 times longer than fluorescents, light up faster and shine brighter, with a warmer glow. Their high cost, up to $50 per bulb, makes them impractical for most consumers, although the cost is expected to drop as use grows.

For most of the past century, few people cared much about how much electricity their light bulbs used or power plants' effects on the environment.

But concerns about high energy costs, foreign oil supplies and environmental problems have helped turn the lowly light bulb into an exclamation point for change.

"There's been a perfect storm of interest" around energy efficiency, said Kateri Callahan, president of the nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy, which is working with Congress on the new standards. "And the light bulb is an icon of energy use. It's what you think of first."

The American Lighting Association, a Dallas-based trade group for lighting manufacturers, retailers and designers, fully supports standards for more energy-efficient lighting. But an outright ban on incandescents is wrong, said its president, Richard Upton.

"We don't think any technology ought to be banned," he said. "Different technologies do a better job depending on the situation."

Though compact fluorescents might be ideal for hallways or floor lamps, Upton said, incandescents are generally better for reading or spotlighting artwork.

That said, Upton acknowledged that compact fluorescents have improved dramatically in recent years and are much better than the harsh office lighting that most consumers know well.

Even the cheapest compact fluorescents no longer have that long annoying flicker at startup, and most fit better in traditional lamps than before.

Although cheaper fluorescents cast a pale hue over a room and often do not work with a dimmer switch, more expensive fluorescents are nearly indistinguishable from incandescents to the average user's eye.

But compact fluorescents aren't the end-all for lighting either, Upton said. More efficient incandescent bulbs being developed by GE, for instance, eventually might prove to be even better than fluorescents in many home settings. Ditto for LEDs.

Levine, the California lawmaker, said he has had discussions with GE officials and others, and could change his proposal to make it less restrictive.

"Part of this is just attracting attention to the issue," he said. "It's about getting people to look at the world around them and letting them know there are very simple things they can do to make it better."

bkeefe@coxnews.com`

Buying the best bulb

• Check the package to make sure you're buying the right one for your use. Some models work in dimmable fixtures; others are the right size for torchiers or ceiling fans.

• Compact fluorescent bulbs offer varying light output and color. Those with a lower number on the color range emit a warmer, softer color. The daylight bulbs produce a very white light.

• Austin Energy customers can get $2-$4 coupons. Print out the coupon at www.austinenergy.com.