The nanny state of the Democrats becoming stronger everyday:
The conceit in the 1960s show “The Outer Limits” was that outside forces had taken control of your television set.
Next year in California, state regulators are likely to have the emergency power to control individual thermostats, sending temperatures up or down through a radio-controlled device that will be required in new or substantially modified houses and buildings to manage electricity shortages.
The proposed rules are contained in a document circulated by the California Energy Commission, which for more than three decades has set state energy efficiency standards for home appliances, like water heaters, air conditioners and refrigerators.
The changes would allow utilities to adjust customers’ preset temperatures when the price of electricity is soaring. Customers could override the utilities’ suggested temperatures. But in emergencies, the utilities could override customers’ wishes.
Final approval is expected next month.
My guess? Save your old thermostats, they will be selling for big prices on ebay in the future.
But seriously this is a case of the state telling the people how cold or how warm they can be because its too hard to actually build more power generators. Why? Because of the environmentalists. No drilling for more oil because it might hurt some rat. No building of nuclear reactors because it might harm people. No building of new refineries because they are too dirty.
So the result?
The government tells you when you can be comfortable in your own home.
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The government doesn’t tell you when you can be comfortable in your own home. The government may if it feels necesssary limit the amount of regulated power you may consume. Got a problem with that ? Generate your own power.
Re: “The government doesn’t tell you when you can be comfortable in your own home. The government may if it feels necesssary limit the amount of regulated power you may consume. Got a problem with that ? Generate your own power.”
Considering we’re spending $3 billin a week in Iraq in a war over oil (all in borrowed money that our children will have to pay back to the Chinese government), I would say that any actions that reduces the need for oil is a help to America.
Recall that this position is actually in line with president Bush’s speech about the US being “addicted to oil”, so that puts me in agreement with him on that particular issue.
The “nanny state” certainly received a boost when the Republican Congress was called back into session, and George W. Bush flew back from vacation, all to intervene in the family decision to take a demonstratably brain-dead woman off of artificial life support.
The only difference between Conservatives and Liberals is that the Liberal Nanny isn’t names “James Dobson”.
This will be easy enough to get around. In fact, a lot of money could be made by selling space heaters and portable air conditioners. Also, thermostats could easily be isolated to think the rest of the house warmer or colder, packed with ice, or wrapped with a warm towel. Wouldn’t it be smarter and less Orwellian for California to encourage solar powered homes?