Sunday, January 22, 2006

The Reason for Federalism

Taking a cue from the right, states that are fed up with weak federal environment regulations are starting to create stricter regulations on their own. This is what the right wants, more states rights and less forced upon states by the federal government.

20 states are requiring renewable sources for some of their electricity. 10 states have different regulations for various appliances. "California is the only state with separate standards for hot tubs and pool pumps. Only Massachusetts has rules for residential furnaces, boilers and the fans inside. California has standards for televisions, DVD players and recorders." And there's the problem, it makes things harder for manufacturers to have different standards for different states.

"Aggressive action at the state level has forced manufacturers to agree to some national efficiency requirements for appliances. After several states moved to regulate ceiling fans, for instance, manufacturers agreed to national standards to avoid the expense and hassle of customizing products for individual states."

But really, things that are manufactured and sold in multiple states are the very definition of interstate commerce and to be most efficient should be regulated by Congress or other appropriate agencies at the federal level. It seems the Energy Department had missed legal deadlines in setting appliance energy efficiency regulations. Wow that Bush administration is efficient.

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