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California proposes government-regulated thermostats
One News Now ^ | January 21, 2008 | Pete Chagnon

Posted on 01/21/2008 2:55:44 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Californians may soon have to deal with climate change on a different scale -- and this time the culprit isn't greenhouse gas.

The California Energy Commission is proposing a plan which allows the government to regulate household thermostats in the event of an "energy crisis." Under the proposed rules, all new thermostats will be fitted with technology that will allow the government to adjust the temperature of someone's home by plus or minus four degrees. Originally the plans called for mandatory compliance; however, amid public outcry, the plans have been slightly altered to allow an individual to turn off the remote access device.

But Mindy Spatt, the communications director for the Utility Reform Network, says there may be more cost-effective ways of regulating power during a supposed crisis. "At this point we are concerned that, ultimately, the consumer will end up paying for something that doesn't have benefits commensurate with its cost," she states.

However, Terry Jeffery, the editor-in-chief for CNSNews.com and regular guest on CNN's The Situation Room, disagrees with the proposal, calling it "ridiculous" and a government intrusion of privacy.

"Liberals are always talking about a right to privacy. It seems to me that if there is really, truly a right to privacy, the right to decide how you want to heat or cool your home would fall under it," says the journalist. "If someone wants to pay more money to make it warmer in the winter, [or] pay more money to make it cooler in the hot months of the summer, they ought to be able to do that."

The energy proposal will be decided by the California Energy Commission on January 30. Jeffery says it should be opposed at all cost. "The idea ... of being able to remotely control the temperature that someone's house is heated to is outrageous," he says.

At least one California legislator has described the proposal as "Orwellian." According to the San Francisco Chronicle, several of the state's utilities already operate similar voluntary programs in some areas.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: 1984; apple; bendoverwinstonsmith; ca; california; cnsnews; emergency; energy; energycommission; energycrisis; georgeorwell; government; liberals; mindyspatt; nannystate; orwellian; privacy; regulation; remoteaccess; remotecontrol; terryjeffery; thermostats; urn; utilities
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I thought the regulation prevented the homeowner from deviating more than +/- 4 degrees from a temperature the state preferred during a "crisis."
1 posted on 01/21/2008 2:55:44 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Orwellian ping

I swear we are giving everything up in the name of a climatological scam, and of security.


2 posted on 01/21/2008 2:57:25 PM PST by Cinnamon
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To: Eric Blair 2084

Ping.


3 posted on 01/21/2008 2:58:29 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (I resolve to remember to write "08" on my checks.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Austin, TX has had a similar program for years. The City has control to cut your power during peak times ... to forestall a blackout. The cycle of you electric for 3-4 minutes during peak times. They will even give you the wall thermostat free of charge.


4 posted on 01/21/2008 2:58:44 PM PST by K-oneTexas (I'm not a judge and there ain't enough of me to be a jury. (Zell Miller, A National Party No More))
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To: traviskicks

Ping.


5 posted on 01/21/2008 2:58:47 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (I resolve to remember to write "08" on my checks.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

The legislator was probably McClintock.


6 posted on 01/21/2008 2:59:08 PM PST by RightWhale ("... which is not a linnnit' 'I'ht first published svstenn of predicate logic was devised 1»' the ()
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
--the REA co-op my folks were in fifty years ago had a voluntary off-peak power-saving program--
7 posted on 01/21/2008 3:00:42 PM PST by rellimpank (--don't believe anything the MSM tells you about firearms or explosives--NRA Benefactor)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Image hosted by Photobucket.com the RAT gooberment still can't control space heaters though... yet.
8 posted on 01/21/2008 3:00:46 PM PST by Chode (American Hedonist ©®)
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To: Chode

very soon they will dictate how many breaths we can take a day... we are Carbon dioxide producers you know.


9 posted on 01/21/2008 3:02:57 PM PST by Cinnamon
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Makes sense to me. Government regulation caused the problem, so government regulation will solve the problem.

/industrial grade irony

10 posted on 01/21/2008 3:03:33 PM PST by magslinger (cranky right-winger)
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To: Cinnamon

A government big enough to provide everything, is also big enough to take everything.


11 posted on 01/21/2008 3:03:56 PM PST by OB1kNOb (With Duncan Hunter out and Fred Thompson on the ropes, conservatism in the 2008 election is DOA.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
"Liberals are always talking about a right to privacy. It seems to me that if there is really, truly a right to privacy, the right to decide how you want to heat or cool your home would fall under it," says the journalist.

Stupid journalist. That whole "right to privacy" thing only relates to abortion. Everything else is fair game.

12 posted on 01/21/2008 3:05:59 PM PST by Texas Eagle (Could pacifists exist if there weren't people brave enough to go to war for their right to exist?)
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To: Cinnamon
we are Carbon dioxide producers you know

Workout videos will soon be banned for encouraging pollution.

13 posted on 01/21/2008 3:06:02 PM PST by Cruising Speed
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

This is a ridiculous proposal, I read about it some weeks ago.


14 posted on 01/21/2008 3:06:13 PM PST by americanophile
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Next:

1) Gov't-controlled flushing toilets in your loo.

2) Electronic toilet-paper dispensers that allow only 1 square per sitting (or two, after depositing a quarter in the slot).

15 posted on 01/21/2008 3:08:07 PM PST by rfp1234 (Phodopus campbelli: household ruler since July 2007.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

This is how they do it.
Note - they already call the global warming hoax a “crisis”. Once they get this law, it’s over.
Do you think there will be exemptions for the elderly? Leftists will never stop. They never have enough. They want complete control of all aspects of life.


16 posted on 01/21/2008 3:11:33 PM PST by Leftism is Mentally Deranged (left is bonkers)
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To: Cinnamon
Image hosted by Photobucket.com i heard that...
17 posted on 01/21/2008 3:14:12 PM PST by Chode (American Hedonist ©®)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Is there an exemption for “persons with compromised immune systems?”


18 posted on 01/21/2008 3:14:47 PM PST by Steely Tom (Steely's First Law of the Main Stream Media: if it doesn't advance the agenda, it's not news.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
They will be regulating the type of signal used by our T.V.’s as of February 2009, then they regulate our light bulbs and now there is talk to regulate our thermostats on the federal level. How much more do we allow socialist politicians to invade our homes?
19 posted on 01/21/2008 3:15:58 PM PST by Man50D (Fair Tax, you earn it, you keep it!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Supposedly, the state legislature knocked this proposal down. I believe it’s dead. But, if you live in Sacramento County, you have to call in and see if it’s OK to use your woodstove.


20 posted on 01/21/2008 3:25:43 PM PST by RC2
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