It is good to know what your government is doing in regards to the state of the environment. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started a program called Energy Star in 1992. Energy Star is a voluntary organization that entreats companies who make electrical devices to include a special label on their products. In order for a product to qualify for an Energy Star label, it must meet strict energy efficiency standards set by the Energy Star program.

The idea here is to point consumer attention towards products that promote responsible consumption of natural resources. This seems to be one of the more realistic approaches to solving the climate crisis, since we all know somebody is always going to want a microwave or an air conditioner, no matter how bad the environmental problems might get. Conservation is a great way to get your cake and eat it too. Read more below to find out about the new pledge you can make at the Energy Star Website.

Join Countless Other People Taking The Pledge [www.energystar.gov]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a national campaign to help Americans join in the fight against climate change. The campaign, “Change the World, Start with Energy Star” helps people make important energy-efficient changes at home and at work that can add up to significant reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases.

“Environmental responsibility is everyone’s responsibility and this Earth Day, we are encouraging people to take common sense steps to reduce their climate footprints,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “Through our new ‘Change the World: Start with ENERGY STAR’ campaign, we are helping people save green by going green.”

The campaign builds on the success of the Energy Star Change a Light campaign by providing a set of steps people can take to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to replacing at least one light in the home with an Energy Star one, the new Energy Star pledge encourages consumers to:

- Make home heating and cooling systems work more efficiently
- Make sure homes are well sealed and insulated
- Enable the power management features on home computers and monitors
- Choose an Energy Star qualified refrigerator, dishwasher and/or clothes washer when replacing or purchasing new appliances

Taking energy efficient steps at home and at work can make an important difference in addressing climate change. Buildings contribute about 40% of the nation’s emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, as most of the energy used in buildings comes from the burning of fossil fuels. These emissions can be reduced substantially through energy efficiency and the steps of the Energy Star pledge. If every American household took part in this new Energy Star pledge, we would save more than $18 billion in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 18 million cars..

Individuals can take the pledge online at www.energystar.gov

WASHINGTON, DC, March 17, 2008 (ENS) – Next year, clothes washers that are much more efficient than current appliances will be coming on the market. The new washers will have to use less water than those now on sale, and they also must be more energy efficient.

As of July 1, 2009, manufacturers will have to make their washers meet a higher standard if they want to qualify the appliances to carry the government’s Energy Star® label.

Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formed in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based program that seeks to reduce air pollution through increased energy efficiency.

“The Energy Star program provides consumers with greater options for purchasing energy efficient products to save money and energy,” said Andy Karsner, the Energy Department’s assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy

“More stringent Energy Star criteria for clothes washers … means more consumers can make smart energy choices and help further the nation’s goal of increasing efficiency and energy productivity, resulting in significant energy savings and greater economic competitiveness,” he said.

This Energy Star qualified Whirlpool washer
will be held to a stricter standard come
July 2009. (Photo courtesy Whirlpool)

The new requirements for clothes washers carrying the Energy Star label will take effect in two phases.

In order to qualify, clothes washers must be a minimum of 43 percent more efficient than current federal energy efficiency standards with a maximum Water Factor of 7.5, as of July 1, 2009.

The Water Factor measures water efficiency and is calculated as gallons of water used per cubic foot of capacity – the lower the Water Factor, the more efficient the clothes washer.

Then in the second phase, from January 1, 2011, clothes washers must be a minimum of 59 percent more efficient than current federal energy efficiency standards with a maximum Water Factor of 6.0.

After the 2011 criteria change for clothes washers, consumers across the country are expected to save a total of $120 million on utility bills annually.

The Energy Department calculates buyers will also save 11.2 billion gallons of water, and 659 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year.

The agency projects that 1.9 million Energy Star qualified clothes washers built to the new criteria will be sold the first year they are available, saving Americans up to $92.4 million annually on their water and utility bills.

Currently, clothes washers qualified to the Energy Star standard use 75 percent less energy than clothes washer models manufactured in 1980. The current Energy Star criteria for clothes washers, last modified in January 2007, were drafted with input from stakeholders and public review and comment.

To learn more about Energy Star®, and to view the revised program requirements, visit [url]www.EnergyStar.gov[/url] or call 1-888-STAR-YES.

There are at least 225 models of clothes washers on the U.S. market that meet the current Energy Star criteria, made by 27 different manufacturers.

For a complete list of Energy Star qualified washers, click here [www.energystar.gov].

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

NEW YORK, New York, January 20, 2008 (ENS) – Environmental advocates and state and city governments filed lawsuits Thursday to force the U.S. Department of Energy to adopt stronger energy efficiency standards for residential furnaces and boilers.

The public interest law firm Earthjustice filed suit on behalf of Natural Resources Defense Council, NRDC, arguing that a two percent increase in efficiency standards adopted by the Energy Department in November will cost consumers billions of dollars and fail to reduce global warming emissions of carbon dioxide, CO2.

The city of New York and the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York also challenged the DOE standards in a joint lawsuit filed separately.

“Stronger energy efficiency standards for furnaces and boilers would save money, stop pollution and spare health,” said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. “The Bush administration’s stagnant standards disregard the law and public interest, benefiting industry at the expense of consumers and the environment.”

“Without increased fuel efficiency, consumers nationwide will unnecessarily spend potentially millions more in home heating costs, while their furnaces and boilers spew millions more tons of harmful CO2.”

The new DOE standards for gas-fired furnaces – the most common home heating appliance – represent a small increase from 78 to 80 percent efficiency.

When the DOE announced its new standards for furnaces and boilers in November 2007, the agency tried to put a good face on the move.

“As a nation, we must find better and more ways to both conserve energy and use it more efficiently and productively. These amended standards will not only cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, but they also allow consumers to make smarter energy choices that will save energy and money,” said DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy Karsner.

“Improving appliance standards is a top priority of the Department of Energy, and in the coming years, we intend to maintain and, where possible, accelerate the extraordinary progress we have made over the last two years,” he said.

Higher efficiency standards translate into economic benefits, especially in northern states where the cost difference between low and high efficiency models can be recovered more quickly through reduced heating bills.

Advocates for residents in these regions said the weak national standards hurt renters who are stuck paying the higher fuel costs of less efficient models installed by landlords.

“By adopting such weak new standards, the Energy Department is telling New Yorkers and others that reducing greenhouse gases and heating bills just doesn’t matter,” said Ramin Pejan, attorney at the New York City Law Department. “The success of the City’s PlaNYC efforts to improve air quality in a cost-effective manner depends, in part, on cooperation from federal agencies.”

“DOE chose to implement a standard so weak it is simply meaningless,” said Earthjustice attorney Tim Ballo. “The vast majority of products on the market already meet the standard DOE has adopted. This is a blink and you’ll miss it efficiency increase.”

Ballo says the Energy Department recognized that adopting a 90 percent efficiency standard nationwide would maximize consumer value, saving $11 billion over a 24 year period, while also preventing the emission of 141 million tons of carbon dioxide over the same span.

Yet the federal agency instead opted for a standard that 99 percent of furnaces on the market already meet, resulting in much less cost savings and virtually no reduction in CO2 emissions.

The lawsuits challenge what plaintiffs call flaws in the Energy Department’s economic analysis that led the department to undervalue the benefits of stronger standards. For example, a stronger standard would most likely drive down the cost of natural gas, but the agency officials failed to consider this factor in making their decision.

The plaintifs contend that the Energy Department also failed to place a dollar value on the decreased carbon dioxide emissions that would result from a stronger efficiency standard.

View This Story On Eco-mmunity Map.