"Signs of Energy"

(Editorial in today's New York Times)

It seemed to take forever, but the Bush administration has finally agreed to a strict timetable for establishing new energy efficiency standards for nearly two dozen commercial and residential appliances over the next five years. The agreement is good news for the environment. It is also a tribute to the persistence of 15 states, the Natural Resources Defense Council and various consumer groups that sued the Energy Department for failing to comply with longstanding Congressional mandates.

By some estimates, the new standards — covering items like dishwashers, ovens, clothes dryers, and heating and air-conditioning systems — could eventually save the amount of energy used by 12 million households, eliminate the need to build dozens of power plants and significantly cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas.

Congress ordered the Energy Department to make periodic updates in efficiency standards for appliances as part of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. The Clinton administration strengthened standards for 10 appliances. But no new standards have been issued since 2001. In 2004, under pressure from manufacturers, the Bush administration actually tried to weaken standards for commercial air-conditioners, only to be rebuked by the courts.

In some cases, the technology already exists to meet stronger standards; the trick is to get manufacturers to incorporate them across the board. In other cases, the new standards would drive technology forward.