Zeus_Hunt Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 The Conservatives in the UK will propose banning plasma screens and other energy-guzzling electrical goods in a report to be unveiled next week. The proposals target white goods like fridges and freezers, as well as TVs, personal computers and DVD players that use too much energy or operate on stand-by. The ideas come from a Conservative group set up by David Cameron to develop policies to protect the environment and although the measures to make household electrical appliances more energy efficient are not binding on Mr Cameron, they are thought likely to be warmly received by the Tory leader.The group will also suggest scrapping Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of the nation’s success in favour of a model that measures people’s happiness drawn up up by Friends of the Earth. Under the proposals, a cap could be set on the energy use of each electrical appliance, and those exceeding limits could be banned from sale in the UK. A new labelling requirement could be introduced to inform consumers of products’ annual energy consumption compared with other similar appliances. And there could be a ban on electrical goods with stand-by lights which can stay on indefinitely. Some 2 per cent of Britain’s total electricity use is currently taken up by appliances left on stand-by rather than being switched off.The proposals are set to be unveiled on Thursday in the final report of the Tories’ Quality of Life Policy Group, chaired by former Environment Secretary John Gummer and green activist Zac Goldsmith, a Conservative spokesman confirmed. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has already announced his ambition to “eliminate” the stand-by function on appliances, which was blasted by the Government’s energy review last year as a waste of electricity. The report is expected to focus on plasma-screen TVs as particularly wasteful of electricity, and it is thought that many models would fall foul of proposed energy cap unless dramatically more efficient technology is developed.Householders are also expected to be offered tax cuts potentially worth thousands of pounds to make their homes more energy-efficient. Mr Gummer warned: “We live in a joined-up world and yet we organise our lives in silos. The imperative of global warming demands that we change that approach utterly - not just governments, but businesses, groups and individuals.” View: Original Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus_Hunt Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 The group will also suggest scrapping Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of the nation’s success in favour of a model that measures people’s happiness drawn up up by Friends of the Earth.Thats what it should be. But as if this will ever happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyo Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 when i think my computer stays on standby like 4ever... when downloading, uploading, utorrenting, defragging, antivir-scanning, registry-cleaning and imaging the system drive dont keep it busy.the reform will start, but only when the knife is already deep inside. money making will always beat the environment protection stuff, given it is not immediately life threatning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 The UK Government tried something recently with regards to providing some sort of financial renumeration for those households which purchased double glazing / central heating. When I looked it up, it was something ridiculous like £100 towards the cost. The thing is... it would cost almost 10x that amount, if not more to have the whole house fitted.I'm sure their intentions are honourable for the most part, but surely the people should have the choice on what they can have in their household or not. Who are they to dictate what we are allowed to purchase just becuase of energy efficiency?If I decide to purchase a plasma screen for my bedroom which uses a considerable amount of energy / electricity then that should be my choice as I'm therefore also paying for the electricity bill. I also highly doubt the tax cuts "potentially worth thousands of pounds" will stand up. It'll be like a voucher from say, Blockbusters offering £50 off DVD rentals, only to find 100 coupons inside offering £0.50 off.If this goes through, it'll be unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearoninternet Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 i allready told you about those polarbears ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dock98 Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Fixed.it seems to me,freedom is freedom of choice,not government mandates.anytime the govts get involved it always costs us more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 i allready told you about those polarbears ;-)Ah ha. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to throw my morals out of the window and allow an endangered species to become extinct.The Government needs to advise and educate, not impose itself. If the Government was honest from the start and say "Look... we have a problem here", and explains in plain English what it is they're trying to accomplish they might actually get through to people. Simply banning a product because of how an individual might use it (i.e. the whole standby issue) is just silly to be honest. It makes no sense.How much electricity does one use in standby mode anyway? As far as I was aware, the television stays off. The standby button does of course use electricity to power the small light (I highly doubt all of these across the country could affect energy emissions).Also, if the country can handle 1/3 of the country switching their kettles on at the same time to make a drink during half time in the World Cup, I highly doubt standby buttons are that much of an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus_Hunt Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 I know that my standby monitor uses power.. pretty decent power..becoz it causes my meter to turn... So I always turn OFF the mains wen I go out.Something is better than nothing...I read somewhere that 2% power can be saved by resolving the standby thingy...Think of that 2% being used in some african nation.... so many ppl can have electricity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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