What is your point? Are you arguing that the article is exaggerating the role of the international standards body by calling it a cartel? I think one of the main points of the article is that if companies were acting in consumers' interest you'd see the lifespan of bulbs increase while brightness remained relatively steady or also increased (due to advances in bulb tech). As far as light bulbs go, as a consumer, I'd much rather pay more (and do) for a longer lasting bulb in the 27-35k temp range than perpetually need to replace bulbs that burn up at 45k+. If you're arguing consumers prefer brighter shorter bulbs and that that drove the market, you're directly contradicting the article which has plenty of citations and makes a very compelling argument. Care to share yours?