Get rid of big TVs to make America green
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| Thu, 04-09-2009 - 2:30pm |
I guess it's time to get rid of big screen TV's, to save the world from global warming and what not.
I guess we really don't need televisions larger than 40". :)
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2009/03/23/state-considers-ban-on-big-screen-tvs/12993/
State considers ban on big screen TVs
In their continuing quest to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, state regulators have uncovered a new villain in the war on global warming : your big screen TV
Couch potatoes, beware.
The California Energy Commission is considering a proposal that would ban California retailers from selling all but the most energy-efficient televisions. Critics say the news standards could take 25 percent of televisions off the market — most of them 40 inches or larger.
“The larger the television, the more at risk it is of being banned unnecessarily in California,” said Douglas Johnson, senior director of technology police for the Consumer Electronics Association.
Association officials say the standards are not only unnecessary – because the federal government already regulates energy efficiency through the voluntary Energy Star program — but also ill-timed. The last thing our economy needs now is products taken off the market, they say.
Furthermore, they say that with a weak economy, consumers are going out less and watching TV more.
“This is really about regulating entertainment, not energy use,” Johnson said.
Poppycock, says the commission.
Affordable big screen TVs will still be available under the new standards, spokesman Adam Gottlieb said. In fact, he said the regulations will save you money.
The commission calculates that if you buy televisions meeting the proposed standards it’ll cut your annual energy use by — drum roll, please — $18 to $30 per television per year.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to save money,” Gottlieb said.
Gottlieb said the commission is exploring the regulations to reduce the strain on the energy grid and to avoid building new power plants.
Televisions are the fastest growing consumer appliance in California. Californians are buying bigger TVs, and more of them. If something doesn’t happen, televisions are going to devour a bigger and bigger piece of the state’s power grid, which means we’ll need more power plants. More power plants mean more greenhouse gas emissions.
“Consumers aren’t aware of the hidden cost of powering these things,” Gottlieb said.
Gottlieb insisted that the regulations wouldn’t eliminate big screens from California stores. But the commission’s own draft report says TV energy use is “proportional to the screen size.” And there’s no doubt the regulations will limit energy use.
So if you’re in the market for big screen TV, now might be the time to buy. The regulations are expected to be approved this summer.

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I remember us having a similar discussion last year, I think, about what people would be willing to give up for the environment.
My point is more that if we all do what is possible for us to do, then we can see the positive changes in our environment.
**Yes, everything has a 'cost' on the environment.
***I remember posting that I don't use a clothes dryer. My clothes go outside on a line. I also don't use an electric dishwasher. ***
I haven't used a dryer in about three years either. In the winter I use these nifty, retractable clotheslines, that cost about $8 each at the grocery and let the heat from my house dry my clothes. Last summer, we bought a front loading washer off of craigslist for $200, our water consumption went way down, plus we recycled the washing machine :0).
Shop at thrift and consignment stores-just got 4 pairs of
That sounds similar to the process that our city is using.
I've shopped at thrift stores and yard sales for years and years. I'm all for reusing everything that can possibly be reused. I hate to see stuff thrown away that still has life left in it.
And for me it's not even a choice, it's a requirement. I have to make every penny in my household count, so it's more a matter of money than being environmental.
It's a matter of personal choice what people will do without or put up with or pay for when it comes right down to it.
LOL
Oh yeah!
Oh, yes. I remember Pong and Space Invaders and Frogger. My parents went out and bought a small color TV just to be able to play Atari games.
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