"US agencies working to reassure public on legitimacy of Energy Star label; System to test products in labs being developed" by Sonja Ryst, Washington Post | July 11, 2010
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy are taking steps to reassure consumers that the blue and white stamp really means what it says, namely that the product is highly energy-efficient, and they are revamping the way they certify products that bear the label.
They couldn't find someone with more trustworthiness and credibility?
This comes after the Government Accountability Office flayed the Energy Star certification process because manufacturers could exploit it. GAO investigators said in March that they set up websites, mailboxes, and cellphones for four bogus manufacturing companies and then used that contact information on Energy Star commitment forms.
The bogus companies received Energy Star partnership status within two weeks. When the GAO investigators filled out forms describing 20 bogus products, 15 qualified for Energy Star labels, including a gas-powered clock radio and a feather duster attached to a space heater.
“If you’re going to tell the public that the government is behind these products, then you need something to back it up,’’ Greg Kutz, GAO managing director of forensic audits and special investigations, said in an interview.
Now the EPA and the Energy Department are developing a system that would require that all products be tested in approved, independent labs before they get the Energy Star designation. The new standards are scheduled to be announced in September, and implementation is likely to start in January.
Recently, EPA officials developed the conditions that the labs will be required to meet, which include maintaining records of observations and ensuring that the people doing the testing are free of “influences that may adversely affect the quality of their work.’’
Related: Healthcare Coup of Congress
Didn't seem to matter much then.
Manufacturers will be required to pay the labs to have their products tested.
“This administration is committing to having Energy Star be a credible tool for consumers,’’ said Kathleen Hogan, the Energy Department’s deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency....
This government just can't help lying, can it?
Companies have to persuade customers to pay for energy efficiency....
Why must we be persuaded if it is such a great thing?
“When people are struggling to make mortgages, it’s a tough sell,’’ said Mark Delaney, director of NPD’s home division.
That's if you were able to keep yours, of course.
--more--"
And look who i$ behind the pu$h for a CARBON TAX!!
"Green firms uniting to flex political muscle; Press senators on climate bill" by Mark Arsenault, Globe Staff | July 11, 2010
WASHINGTON — The green-friendly businesses — including many young tech companies not yet household names — are the regional face of a multimillion dollar lobbying effort aimed at key senators across the country. Their effort is backed by some of the world’s most recognizable consumer brands and Fortune 500 companies, and guided by experienced political hands with deep connections to the Obama and Clinton administrations.
See: Which Corporations Are Backing the Carbon Tax Bill?
Yeah, but they are doing it four our good, not theirs.
The TV, radio, and print campaign, bolstered by in-person jawboning of legislators, demonstrates the political reach of green-technology and alternative energy companies, which have progressed from the cluttered basements of inventors and entrepreneurs into an emerging political force seeking to apply pressure at the highest levels of government....
Solar companies, wind-energy developers, battery manufacturers, and others want the federal government to establish a system of raising money from emitters of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change — either through a direct carbon tax or vouchers purchased by polluters — and steer some of that money into the development of clean energy technologies.
The businesses are backing proposed climate and energy legislation sponsored by Senators John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent. The Kerry-Lieberman proposal calls for an auction of carbon-emission permits and would use the money generated to provide billions in incentives to reduce greenhouse gasses.
“Green groups and alternative energy companies view this as a cash cow,’’ said Ron Bonjean, a Washington political consultant and former top Republican adviser on Capitol Hill....
Are you really going to be SUCH SUCKERS, America?
Interests with deep pockets are spending heavily to shape the debate.
Along with what I am reading on my desk, if you know what I mean.
The American Petroleum Institute, representing oil interests, spent about $1.5 million on lobbying in the first quarter this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The National Mining Association, representing coal companies and other miners, spent $716,000. And the petroleum giant
Last week, a group opposing climate change legislation called “CO2 is Green,’’ launched a $600,000, two-week TV and newspaper campaign against the Kerry-Lieberman bill, paid for in part with donations from fossil fuel interests, said Leighton Steward, the group’s founder, a former executive with
Steward says the legislation would kill American jobs and raise the cost of electricity, gas, and food. He hopes to stop the bill and spark a new round of scientific debate about the effects of greenhouse gases. “I’d be happy to debate anyone,’’ said Steward, who insists that carbon is not harming the environment....
No, Globe doesn't want to have that debate.
Yeah, we know where they are coming from:
"Liberal groups unite to form ‘One Nation’
170 liberal and civil rights groups are forming a coalition that they hope will match the Tea Party movement’s political energy and influence.
The large-scale attempt at liberal unity, dubbed “One Nation,’’ will try to revive themes that energized the grass roots two years ago. In a reworking of President Obama’s slogan, organizers are demanding “all the change’’ they voted for....
Yeah, like what?
Ending the wars?
Despite friction among the groups, the effort behind “One Nation’’ was born of a certain necessity. A promised overhaul of immigration law is virtually dead this year. Legislation that labor unions say would make it easier for them to grow is stalled in Congress....
Oh, NOTHING REALLY IMPORTANT!!
The groups involved represent the core of the first-time voters who backed Obama, including the National Council of La Raza, NAACP, AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, and the United States Student Association....
Yeah, sometimes it's okay to be a racist.
“Having been confronted with the specter of the Tea Party . . . we felt it urgent to organize the majority of this country, which voted in 2008 and has gone back to the couch,’’ said Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP. “We’ve been split off in different directions.’’
I think he is.
Also see: Tea or Coffee, America?
How come liberals NEVER WIN ANYTHING?!!
