LIGHT BULBS???

And in the frozen north we will have to make up the loss of heat "wasted" with incandescent bulbs. Probably by burning fossil fuels or using more electricity.
Jeez I have got myself in a dither, I'd better go for a walk

So...hmm...I think what I'm hearing is I should stock up on tungsten bulbs, mercury, and some coal, just to be safe.

If you have an enlarger that uses conventional 'opal glass' bulbs, it probably does make sense to have a reserve supply. Not because of the threat of any government-mandated switch to alternate technology, but rather because the major manufacturers of that technology are abandoning the market to the low-cost, high-volume shops in Asia who only do standard 60 and 100 w household bulbs. Those market pressures are far more likely to impact on you ability to find a replacement bulb in the near future than is any kind of government-enforced regulation. The last bulb I bought (a spare, from Freestyle, about two years ago) was wicked expensive!

When you ARE the niche market, you just have to get used to paying the high prices.

1) the folks in europe will be faced witha ban on tungsten bulbs for lighting - I think in 2012. At that point the sbility to make conventional bulbs will likly fade.
2) LED will replece CFL rather shortly I would guess. The CFL have to be designed so that they stop working when they will no longer start, the way most makers have done that is to have a component in the ballast burn out- resulting in smoke and sometime flames. Make sure you turn off the power and wait for it to cool before replecing.
3) Hologen is going to be permitted in Europe, so the technology will exist to make the ELH and it's friends.
4) I recently got a LED lamp inteded to replece the common 12V 50W hologen from futurlec. <http://www.futurlec.com/LED_Lamps.shtml> Did not seem so bright when tested.
5)it is hard to find an LED with good colour rendering.
SO you would not be totaly out of line to put a few bulbs away. They SHOULD be still available but why risk it.