Politicians Sorely Misguided on Energy Policies

Welcome to the wonderful world of liberalism (commonly referred to as mind/life control).

Lately this discussion about light bulbs has me thinking. What about central air conditioners? They use as much electricity as 25 100 watt bulbs running at the same time! If you really want to be
“Green” you might have to sweat a little

I believe government should outlaw air conditioners and order one day of the week as “no-lights day”

I agree that this legislation (signed by Bush by the way Ranger) isn’t perfect, however, it’s an oversimplification to say it outlaws incandescent bulbs and sticks us with CFL’s as the only option.

The law actually sets lumen per watt standards that are phased in over time.  The first target in 2012 is the basic 100W light bulb. There are newer halogen bulbs that put out a similar amount of light as a 100W bulb, consume 30% fewer watts and are dimmable without a huge color shift like CFLs.  Many of these Halogen bulbs will eventually not be able to meet the standards either, but by that time it is expected a better alternative will be available. I still hold out hope for LED lighting.

Between dimming and halogen bulbs there could be a significant savings without the sacrifice. Too bad the general public isn’t as aware of these options.

The Home Lighting Control Alliance has some great information and summarizes the lighting portion of the EISA of 2007 in Plain English.

Very true, scott and thanks for the HLCA plug.

My point was to suggest that the quest for energy-saving lighting solutions is being fueled already by the private sector.

Government need not intervene.

Don’t forget about the California Energy Standards for Televisions proposal that CEA says could make 30 percent of existing flat panel TVs illegal to be sold in the state starting in 2011.

http://www.cepro.com/article/california_drafting_strict_tv_energy_laws/

Anyone who has seen Mr. Gore’s home can tell you he’s the biggest hypocrite out there.  If only he practiced what he preached.

I agree Al Gore is the biggest offender. He could not be voted as president so he went after the “GREEN” thing. Hey remember he did invented the Internet! This whole Green thing is out of control. I watch Nickelodeon and every other commercial is about going GREEN. They are brainwashing our kids. All going GREEN means is you have to spend more of your hard earned money to “GO GREEN” or buy “GREEN”. Its a bunch of malarkey!!

The whole policy seems poorly thought out.  To require by law citizens put their own health at risk for the health of our environment and I’m an environmentalist. 

If the epa and their new studies are to be believed http://www.epa.gov/hg/spills/ a single broken CFL contaminates a room or building to the tune of up to 30 times or so the safe allowable amount of mercury.  Not only that but the glass and powder from the breakage need to be handled as hazardous waste and and contaminated clothing or bedding thrown away.  No vacuuming or washing contaminated materials either.  If they are really that toxic they shouldn’t be required by law and safety coatings should be mandated to prevent breakages and contain broken glass.  As it is now they break all the time especially during transport.  I’d say many of the new bulbs I’ve handled leave a white residue on my hands I can only assume came from being packed with other blubs that were broken during shipping.  The same white residue that if we get on our clothes we are supposed to throw them away.  I guess I’m bugged to at the mandate from all angles.

I’m going to refrain from the political aspect of this column except to say I’m for a balance of gov’t regulation and ‘free’ markets. I kind of like having the FDA, EPA, et al around to keep short-sighted commercial industry from killing us all for a profit. It CAN be a healthy, symbiotic relationship. My main ponderance, however, is how the ending promotes dimmers (based on real data), but the beginning appears to state that ‘lighting controls’ (dimmers?) were being removed after inspections. If that is the case, the real issue would appear to be why, and how can that be resolved to make this practical solution more viable?

Brett they are removing the occupancy sensors not the dimmers. The truth is Big Brother is here. I don’t know what the future holds but it doesn’t look Good. I hope Julie was kidding about the day with no AC but I know people that would like to see AC outlawed. They also have compost piles, and refuse to use diapers on their children. Some of those people are now in high government positions. When you have a governement that is firing the CEOS of private companies, and dictating compensation levels to financial markets and handing over other companies to the Union, it is a brave new world.

I’m sorry, my friend. I have trouble lamenting about companies that ran themselves into the ground and created the current mess because they couldn’t regulate their own practices and be more prudent. It seems to prove my point of what happens without a regulatory body with real teeth. I also don’t believe that this administration has any desire to be as deeply mired in private industry as they currently are, but are dealing with the hand they were dealt and trying their best to bring it in for a soft landing. No need to start quoting Freedman economic theory, I’m familiar. Are they getting it all right? No, but this is somewhat new territory and they are trying to hedge forward from traditional policy that isn’t always right for evolving conditions. Your concern for the excessive is understandable and respected. We indeed need to be ever watchful, and I’m glad you are. I’m not quite prepared to think the sky is falling yet, but here’s a long term prediction that you really won’t like. Gov’t will always have to evolve to a certain degree to deal with governing a greater number of people. China will slowly find a balance between socialism and capitalism, and so will we, albiet from opposite ends of the spectrum. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way endorsing this, I just think it is inevitable to some degree. Let the flaming begin…lol. Take care…

The only things I care about being “GREEN” now is Goldenberg’s shorts & profit dollars.

Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that recycling most items is not only NOT cost effective, but it creates a larger “Carbon Footprint” due to the fuel needed for the huge trucks which obviously & inevitably emit tons of air pollution to pick our crap up. Not to mention the additional costs and resources needed to create specially colored plastic trash barrels that we all must have to put our recyclables into.

EXAMPLE: Isn’t glass made out of sand? I can’t remember the last time we had a sand shortage.

In my opinion, this entire issue is as ridiculous as the pandemic hysteria over swine flu. It is nothing more than a distraction from the true wastes of our hard earned tax dollars that our government pisses away every day.

Have to go now… Wallmart is having a 1 day only sale on postcards that show Air Force One flying over NY if you purchase (2) bus tickets and a Maine marriage license.

Dave,

Not to follow you too far off topic, but I think you are misinformed when it comes to recycling.

Numerous studies have been done on the environmental and economic impact of recycling.  The bottom line is it requires less energy overall from curb to product to recycle than to use raw materials, this varies by the material.  The following excerpt from a Popular Mechanics article gives an example:

“Aluminum, for example, requires 96 percent less energy to make from recycled cans than it does to process from bauxite. At the other end of the spectrum, recycled glass uses only about 21 percent less energy—but it still comes out ahead…”

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/how_your_house_works/4291566.html?page=1

I hope you got to Walmart in time to stock up on those post cards…..I have one word to say about that whole thing….Photoshop!

Scott,
I agree with you on some points. There is no question that goods such as paper, (I’d like to say it doesn’t grow on trees), & aluminum are truly worth recycling. They are not only cost effective to recycle, but also protect our limited natural resources. Not to mention, it provides Circuit City ex-employees, and Best Buy executives an opportunity to earn a living collecting them when their 401K plans are worthless and their careers are over.

However, (and not that I use this as my reference to my initial comments), as you recommended the Popular Mechanics article, I would recommend you watch a specific episode of Penn & Teller’s Showtime series entitled Bullsh**, whereas they reveal the hard government numbers regarding “Going Green & Recycling.”

Lastly, I stand by my comments that all of this is a distraction by our media & government to fill headlines. Matter of fact, Mayor Bloomberg of NY just held a live newscast stating that the Swine Flu is no different or worse than the regular Flu. Thus, parents & kids should feel safe going back to their rat & cockroach infested schools. (BTW: There’s nothing funnier than listening to a Jewish guy trying to speak Spanish to all of his constituents who can’t speak English.) 

Again, (even though this has nothing to do with the recycling issue at hand), it goes to prove that the media has once again blown something out of proportion as a distraction from government bailouts and our troops increasing dead body count in Iraq amongst other important issues.

Granted, I am as upset as you are for Mrs. Obama actually putting her arm around the Queen, but this is the crap that keeps our eyes off the what’s important.

I have to go now. Paris Hilton just put out a new Twitter message… My God, I can’t believe what I’m reading… someone just egged her Bentley while she was having lunch and just on the edge of having a thought.

This is all bullsh**!