CAFE standards were effective in increasing new car and truck fuel economy by 70 percent between 1975 and 1988. In 2000 alone, CAFE standards saved American consumers $92 billion, reduced oil use by 60 billion gallons of gasoline, and kept 720 million tons of global warming pollution out of our atmosphere.
In terms of light bulbs, there are lots of “Energy Savings” calculators available on line to show you how much you save with the new CFL’s over regular bulbs. I now have, at last count, eight 75-watt CFL bulbs in my home. According to one energy saving calculator available on line, over the life of those bulbs, I’ll get $538 in energy savings, prevent 6,496 pounds of CO2 from being added to the air, which is the same as taking half an average car off the road.
But who cares when it is the equivalent of forcing you to choose what kind of car or, in this case, light bulb to buy, as Bryan White claims in his latest grading of a PolitiFact ruling on a claim made in a book by Texas Governor Rick Perry about the reach of the Federal government extending to telling consumers what kind of light bulbs they can buy.
