The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to police how much carbon dioxide (i.e. plant food) Americans are allowed to emit. But the federal agency should get its own house in order first.
For instance, Taxpayers for Common Sense reports that EPA certified bogus energy-saving products for its Energy Star program, including a gasoline-powered clock ra
In fact, 20 phony, non-existent products were submitted by investigators from the Government Accountability Office to EPA and the Department of Energy for Energy Star certification, which makes them eligible for federal tax credits and state rebate programs.
EPA was the overseeing agency for 16 of the bogus products that made the grade, including the air cleaner and the clock radio (“Black Gold is sleek, durable, easy on your electric bill and surprisingly quiet”).
“Of the products submitted to the EPA, 12 were approved, one was rejected and three never received a final determination from Energy Star,” according to Gregory Kurtz, managing director of GAO’s forensic audits and special investigations. “DOE qualified three bogus appliances and rejected a [compact fluorescent light] bulb due to failure to provide third party test results from an accredited independent laboratory.” Here’s the report.
We’d like to know what finally triggered DOE’s suspicions about one CFL and why similar questions weren’t raised at EPA over a gasoline-powered alarm clock!
Here’s the scary part: If Congress doesn’t rein in these numbskulls, they’ll soon be dictating how much energy hard-working, productive American citizens are allowed to consume.
