Energy Department: We Have ‘Mandate’ to Force ‘Market Transformation’ for Household Appliances

Once again, the ruling class - in this case unelected appointees - is making decisions for the rest of us because they believe us to be too stupid to decide for ourselves. There is absolutely nothing in our lives too small for the federal government to want to control. That includes the microwave our ruling class masters want us to buy. And the toaster over. And every other small appliance we use. From CNS News:

Assistant Energy Secretary Cathy Zoi said Thursday that the U.S. Department of Energy has a "mandate" to issue regulations to determine what household appliances are available to Americans in the future.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the recently reestablished Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), Zoi pointed to four tactics the Obama administration intends to use to advance the "deployment of clean energy."

The first three include government subsidies for private-sector green energy projects; special tax incentives for green energy projects; and low-interest government-backed loans for green energy projects.

"The fourth one, which the secretary and I love," said Zoi, "is where we have a mandate. Where we can actually just issue regulations and do market transformation."

Zoi was referring to authority the department has under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. That law gives the DOE the power to set efficiency standards for energy-consuming products.

Cathy Zoi is the founding CEO of Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection and she stands to profit from her war against the American consumer. And yes - I said WAR AGAINST THE AMERICAN CONSUMER as that is exactly what is going on. They want to mandate efficiency so far out of line with scientific reality that the products will become prohibitively expensive. Soon, we will be mandated to power our toasters with a bicycle:

Cathy Zoi is a corrupt appointee. From a prior post of mine in March: Green jobs AstroTurf: FOIA reveals Obama turned to George Soros and to wind industry lobbyists to help cover up two economic studies pointing to the failure of European wind energy programs

Via the FOIA request, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has learned that the Department of Energy — specifically the office headed by Al Gore's company's former CEO, Cathy Zoi — turned to George Soros' Center for American Progress and other wind industry lobbyists to help push Obama's wind energy proposals.

She should have been removed for that debacle alone.

UPDATE: In a related post from William Jacobson over at Legal Insurrection: Is There No Detail Too Small For The Feds To Regulate?

The federal government is forcing states and municipalities to change the lettering on street signs from all CAPS to initial Caps because it supposedly is easier for motorists to read, and therefore will save milliseconds of driver attention which might, I repeat, MIGHT, save lives.

Not highway traffic signs. STREET signs!

http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2010/09/energy-department-we-have-mandate-to.html

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