The FDA is looking into tightening up the standards when it comes to the Energy Star Rating according to the Wall Street Journal. The Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the program, says the Energy Star standards are too weak and need updating based on current technology.
The program ignores small improvements that could bring big efficiency gains for comparatively little cost, such as low-flow showerheads and better insulation around windows.
The EPA notes that it is easier for a 5,500-square-foot house to get the Energy Star seal than a 1,500-square-foot house — even though the bigger house likely consumes much more energy.
Back in the 70's, Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute reported that we could have cut our foreign oil dependence by 50% just from energy retrofits to our built environment – with 1970's technology.
Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House and actually had a 
comprehensive energy proposal that if implemented, would have put us decades ahead of the world and established the U.S. as the leader in new energy technology. Why hasn't President Obama followed suit? He did say change was coming, didn't he? Instead, it's Germany leading the way in solar development with technology invented by the U.S.
There's nothing cheaper than solar, wind or wave technology once you distinguish and calculate the hidden subsidies build into kilowatt production form nuclear or fossil based fuels. .jpg)
