I am sure if the government really wants to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions they could do it in thousands of other ways. And as far as reducing the drain on our power plants and (most are far from overused with actual sections of some energy plants being closed due to lack of use), seeing as they get paid well for it I doubt that is the reason. If some areas need to conserve energy, I'm sure even if every household had to use energy saving lightbulbs, that the energy savings would not be reduced that significantly to solve the whole problem, but would only be a bandaid. Maybe if the country who has such a problem with energy turned of its 200,000 odd poker machines we wouldnt need to buy the dull energy saving lightbulbs or worry about the mercury, not to mention put alot of money back into the community that would normally be sucked out of the towns.

The government (at least in the US) regulates things like car emissions, keeping cars that are belching noxious fumes off the streets. Some states also regulate that new cars should meet certain mileage requirements. Maybe you don't agree with these choices either, but if you do then why not regulate the efficiency of light bulbs as well? I'm not saying there should be a monopoly on them -- there should be plenty of choice and competition -- but why keep inefficient and environmentally bad light bulbs around?