Prepare to flick off your incandescent bulbs for good under new US rules that kicked in this week

AP -Get ready to say goodbye to the once ubiquitous incandescent light bulb, pioneered by Thomas Edison more than a century ago. You can thank — or blame — new federal energy efficiency regulations that went into full effect Tuesday. Quite possibly without you even noticing.... The rules establish strict new efficiency standards for bulbs used in homes and businesses and bans the manufacture and sale of those that don’t meet those requirements. Practical incandescent bulbs, which trace their origin to an 1880 Edison patent, can’t meet those standards. Neither can halogen bulbs. The rules also ban imports of less efficient bulbs. . .  The rules don’t affect bulbs that you already own; they also exempt special purpose incandescents such as those used inside ovens.