Pirate's Cove

Here’s a test for the GOP: do they let this guy have the chairmanship? He has some really good points and some really bad points, yet, we have this little bit of Big Government climate alarmism

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) may have some explaining to do to fellow GOP colleagues as he seeks the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, given the incoming wave of new conservatives who may not appreciate some aspects of Upton’s voting record.

Upton joined with Rep. Jane Harman (D.-Calif.) in  2007 to co-author the legislation that effectively banned indoor incandescent light bulbs in the United States. In the last Congress, he an Harman teamed up again to offer new legislation that would extend the ban on incandescent bulbs to outdoor lighting also.

“In 2007, Harman and Upton introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation–which became law as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act–that bans the famously inefficient 100-watt incandescent light bulb by 2012, phases out remaining inefficient light bulbs by 2014, and requires that light bulbs be at least three times as efficient as today’s 100-watt incandescent bulb by 2020,” explained a 2009 press release put out by the two House members.

What you have is that all incandescent bulbs between 40 and 100 watts will go bye bye. The jobs are already gone. And CFLs are pretty much being made mostly in China. On the bright side (sic) “reflector flood, 3-way, candelabra, colored, and other specialty bulbs” are exempt. Plant lights are exempt, which is good for Upton, since he has the fortitude of a petunia.

“Current incandescent bulbs on store shelves are obsolete and highly inefficient–only 10 percent of the energy consumed by each bulb is for light, and 90 percent is wasted on heat,” Upton and Harman told the Post. “Today’s incandescents employ the same technology as the bulbs Thomas Edison created more than 120 years ago. By upgrading to 21st-century technology, we will help preserve energy resources and reduce emissions, all the while saving American families billions of dollars in their electric bills.”

The heat is one of the reasons I used to use CFLs: I lived on the top floor with a thin roof, little insulation, and, North Carolina summers. Anything to reduce heat is most excellent. Yet, CFLs have become, well, crap over the past 7 years, and I have switched back to incandescent bulbs. There is no energy savings in CFLs as they last about the same length as incandescent bulbs. Obviously, though, this legislation and light bulb restrictions are simply about anthropogenic global warming hysteria. Yet

Upton, due to his seniority, is the frontrunner for the post and has recently sought to bolster his conservative credentials by vowing to investigate President Obama’s energy czar Carol Browner, EPA chief Lisa Jackson, and Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

“We’ll paint the curb yellow for them,” Upton told Politico on Oct. 29.

Here’s a little exercise for you, folks: if you live in or near D.C., or plan on visiting soon, make sure to plan time to stop by Upton’s office in the Rayburn building. If you are near St. Joseph or Kalamazoo, Mi, stop by. If not, drop him an email, asking if he himself has replaced all his 40 to 100 watt light-bulbs with CFLs. His website is here.

On the bright side (yes, again), he is against Net Neutrality. On the dark side, he seems more concerned that it is unelected Obama appointees and czars making AGW rules, rather than Congress.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU. sit back and Relax. we’ll dRive!