New standards for light bulbs

As part of President Obama’s efforts to improve energy efficiency the White House announced new efficiency standards on fluorescent and incandescent lighting yesterday .

“I know light bulbs may not seem sexy, but this simple action holds enormous promise because 7 percent of all the energy consumed in America is used to light our homes and our businesses,” said Obama. “Between 2012 and 2042, these new standards will save consumers up to $4 billion a year, conserve enough electricity to power every home in America for 10 months, reduce emissions equal to the amount produced by 166 million cars each year, and eliminate the need for as many as 14 coal-fired power plants.”

Obama directly linked raising the US economy’s productivity to energy efficiency in his speech, announcing that a $346 million program in the stimulus bill to improve the development, deployment, and use of energy-efficient technologies in residential and commercial buildings would be speeded up.

“By adopting [available] technologies in our homes and businesses, we can make our buildings up to 80 percent more energy efficient—or with additions like solar panels on the roof or geothermal power from underground, even transform them into zero-energy buildings that actually produce as much energy as they consume,” he said.

“We can remain the world’s leading importer of oil, or we can become the world’s leading exporter of clean energy. We can allow climate change to wreak unnatural havoc, or we can create jobs utilizing low-carbon technologies to prevent its worst effects. We can cede the race for the 21st century, or we can embrace the reality that our competitors already have: The nation that leads the world in creating a new clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy.”

This was the third event on energy that the White House had organized in the last three days, and another event with Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu is scheduled for today . The new energy push comes after the House of Representatives passed a climate change bill on Friday and the Senate starts working on passage of its own version of the bill.

Paul Guinnessy