CA: State considers ban on big screen TVs

Orange County Register ^ | March 23, 2009 | BRIAN JOSEPH

[calcowgirl]

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.

(snip)

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.

“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.

[Anti-Kenyan]

“Can they be any more stupid out there?”

Stupid question, Yes they can

[dragnet2]

As the Communist running the state, completely ignore the fact that millions of illegal aliens that they are pandering to, all, every single one uses power.

And while government forces American citizens to subsidize these millions of illegal aliens, costing the tax payers tens of billions, the state and the feds force more intrusive controls, taxes, regulations and laws on the law abiding, legitimate citizens.

[Leo Farnsworth]

Ban all vacation travel to California.

[puppypusher]

Someone!Please tell the Government of the State of California to get lost.They suck.

I can’t believe this crap they are trying to shove down the publics throat.

When are the People of California going to wake up and fight back?

[RoadTest]

“Does, ANYONE, ANYWHERE, have any doubts whatsoever, that these people are fascists bent on controlling every aspect of our lives ?”

Yes. They’re Bolshevik Socialists taking control of the United States to make it just one “Republic” in the worldwide Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Obama is their Charley McCarthy. He just met with Gorbechev to load up his teleprompter.

[calcowgirl]

Thanks. I searched for the word “screen” in the title and didn’t find any similar articles.

[lafroste]

spokesman Adam Gottlieb said. In fact, he said the regulations will save you money.

Dear Mr. Gottlieb:

Please go away. Go surfing, go skiing, but please turn off your office computer, direct your phone to email, and just stop helping us. Just go away and stop. Take your salary and your title, but please sit down and stop talking. Just stop helping us.

Sincerely,

Real People

[Hoffer Rand]

I’m sure those rolling black-outs a couple summers ago saved people money on their electric bills, too. So that makes it all OK, right?

[N. Theknow]

A ban on SUT's?

Super Upscale Televisions.

[OCCASparky]

FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!!

A whole $2 a month? WHOA--and the sales tax goes up another 1 percent next month. Yeah, that $2 is really going to be the deal-breaker. Idiots.

[Glenn]

I don't know why this is cool

If you had one, you would use it, I assure you.

[webschooner]

This will be good for the retail economy here in AZ.

Will there be “Big Screen TV Police” at the borders to the Sheeples Republik of Kaliforistan looking to arrest peasants smuggling in Big Screen TV’s? (can’t hardly hide these things inside your spare tire)

[oneamericanvoice]

ROFL!!! NEVER GONNA FLY!!! AT LEAST THERE AREN’T ANY PIGS TAKING OFF FROM LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL! HAHAHAH!

THIS IS LIKE THE THERMOSTAT OVERSIGHT THEY TRIED TO DO A FEW YEARS AGO. YEAH RIGHT.

NRA MEMBER.

[C210N]

The challenge of today is to distinguish the real threats to freedom and the smokescreens.

This one I think is smokescreen, since TVs are part of the leftist agenda (see tagline). In fact, we are basically amusing ourselves to Death!

These clowns WANT us to have plenty of TVs, believe you-me! What Aldous Huxley talked about in Brave New World is upon us.

[ExTexasRedhead]

They’ll be in your bedroom next figuring out a tax.

[Jim Noble]

I just spent four days in San Diego.

Every building I went into (I did not go into any homes) had a warning sign that the building contained substances "known to the State of California to cause cancer".

What's up with that? Lotta cancer out there?

[knarf]

So much of my once blessed United States of America has fallen into the dark abyss of insanity.

More than one has been captured in the cuckoos nest.

I weep.

[dforest]

How many fools out there are still paying for their plasma tv on their charge card.

Hey, go out and buy another type on your damn charge card.

Pay for another year on that one until they declare that boob tube non green.

Geesh, When are we gonna stand up and fight these a holes?

[calcowgirl]

Will there be “Big Screen TV Police” at the borders to the Sheeples Republik of Kaliforistan looking to arrest peasants smuggling in Big Screen TV’s? (can’t hardly hide these things inside your spare tire)

That was my thought after reading #13 and #20. The TaxMan on the State Border!

[OCCASparky]

Can they be any more stupid out there?
Don't encourage them. Here, let's do the math, shall we?

Assuming EVERY HOUSEHOLD in CA has a $2/mo savings, and a retail KwH price of 15 cents a KwH, that means in the average month, you used an extra 13 KwH.

Now assume 4 people per household and 40 million people in CA (a bit off, but makes for easy calculation). So in a month's period, we have an extra 130,000 MwH (13 KwH X 10,000,000 households) in a one month period.

So, how much have we REALLY saved? 130,000 MwH divided by 720 hours in a month comes up with a net savings to the grid of....(drum roll, please)...

181 Megawatts at any given time. Wow--quite a bit, you say.

Not so fast. Consider that:

On an average summer day, CalISO load (the investor-owned utilities) have a peak loading of over 48,000 MW. This doesn't include munis such as LADWP, SMUD, Riverside, Anaheim, etc. So the total consumption in California on peak at any given day may be well in excess of 65,000 MW.

That's right, boys and girls. These people are wasting YOUR tax dollars over the possible "waste" of less than 1/4 of one percent of electrical consumption in the state of California at any particular time.

Oh, and for the record, before I moved out of that socialist hellhole three years ago, my last electric bill (August) was over $400. I don't think two bucks one way or the other was gonna make me or break me.