Bah Humbug! Officials Ban These Christmas Decorations In Utah

We love our Christmas lights in the state of Utah. You can't go more than a block or so without finding houses decorated with festive holiday glow and cheer.

But apparently, the Federal Government is not OK with that.

Last year the Department of Energy announced that the United States would be moving away from incandescent light bulbs and moving toward LED lightbulbs -- this was back in April 2022.

The announcement last year gave citizens some time to get their households in order, because the ban didn't officially take place until Aug. 1 of last year.

But now the ban is in full effect.

As of this moment, you cannot be cited for having incandescent lights hanging from your home (that could change). But retailers carrying incandescent lights could face heavy fines and even sanctions.

The Feds are sending the message loud and clear: the manufacturing, distribution and sale of the old-fashioned light strings is now against the law.

In fact, once these lights burn out on your strings at home, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to find any replacements.

According to the Department of Energy, manufacturers are now required to sell energy-efficient light bulbs, accelerating a longtime industry practice to use compact fluorescent and LED bulbs that last 25 to 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

The previous Trump administration had slowed an earlier phaseout of incandescents, saying it was targeting rules that burden businesses.

Officials say the move will help Americans save money and benefit the environment.

The DOE says that discontinuing inefficient incandescent lights will save Americans nearly $3 billion yearly and substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions over 30 years.