Then there is the legislative threat posed by politicians looking to exploit the global warming frenzy by banning the incandescent light bulb. Ironically, not only is the incandescent light bulb a GE product, it was created by GE’s founder Thomas Edison.

A worldwide movement to require fluorescent bulbs because they use far less energy and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions is gaining momentum. A California legislator introduced legislation to ban incandescent bulbs; Australia plans to ban traditional light bulbs by 2010; and Greenpeace wants India to follow Australia’s lead.

Making matters worse, Wal-Mart is looking to use its muscle to score global warming public relations points by pushing florescent bulbs into 100 million homes. By doing so Wal-Mart is putting GE’s traditional bulb business in jeopardy. According to a New York Times story a “meeting with executives from General Electric, Wal-Mart’s largest bulb supplier, the message from G.E. was, ‘Don’t go too fast. We have all these plants that produce traditional bulbs’ …”

Finally, GE’s clean coal technology for power plants is also in question. So far, utility companies are unwilling to gamble on the new technology because of its expense and questionable reliability.

Immelt’s scheme of leveraging climate change for both profit and popularity is flawed. His quest to create new markets by fueling global warming fears has unleashed the uncontrollable force of politicians, media and activists. Immelt’s lobbyists are now working at cross-purposes: his federal agents are lobbying for global warming regulations while his California lobbyists are trying to save the light bulb.

However, on the popularity front, Immelt is winning the hearts and minds of the Left. At the 25th anniversary dinner of the World Resources Institute (WRI), Al Gore presented Immelt with the “Courage to Lead Award” for his leadership on tackling global warming.

Like James Taggart, the villain in Ayn Rand’s classic Atlas Shrugged, Immelt will discover that relying on government favors and appealing to “the social good” is the path to destroy both his business and capitalism – leaving everyone in the dark.