Gasoline-powered alarm clock awarded EnergyStar label

[wtmusic]

Oops.



"WASHINGTON — Does a 'gasoline-powered alarm clock' qualify for the EnergyStar label, the government stamp of approval for an energy-saving product?

Like more than a dozen other bogus products submitted for approval since last June by Congressional auditors posing as companies, it easily secured the label, according to a Congressional report to be issued Friday. So did an 'air purifier' that was essentially an electric space heater with a feather duster pasted on top, the Government Accountability Office said.

In a nine-month study, four fictitious companies invented by the accountability office also sought EnergyStar status for some conventional devices like dehumidifiers and heat pump models that existed only on paper. The fake companies submitted data indicating that the models consumed 20 percent less energy than even the most efficient ones on the market. Yet those applications were mostly approved without a challenge or even questions, the report said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/science/earth/26star.html?sudsredirect=true

[Dead_Parrot]

1. So, I can't really get one?

Damn.

[joshcryer]

6. When I saw that picture I seriously wanted one. :(

[Nihil]

2. I know that I shouldn't have ...

... but I just found that incredibly funny!

I'm sure the tears will come later when the pathetic truth sinks in
but the first reaction was so much *WTF* that I had to start laughing ...

[Turbineguy]

3. It was probably

approved by a Bush Appointee.

[zbdent]

4. I guess that this would have been resolved had there been even less

government oversight ... er ... "regulation" ...

[Statistical]

5. Well that is bad but also good.

It is bad that something so bad didn't raise red flags before it was approved.

It is good that we have one govt agency double-checking another govt agency by submitting fake requests.

[jstnmarsh]

7. Re: Gasoline-powered alarm clock awarded EnergyStar label

An energy saving alarm clock seem to be an interesting one and it is designed in such a way so as to entice the technocrats. I'm sure that there will be many takers for this clock. There isn't a slightest doubt about this clock not getting the approval. I wonder what the price will be for this energy saving clock in the market.

[Statistical]

8. Interesting first post.

Try reading the article.

The gasoline powered alarm clock doesn't exist. It was submitted by the govt (GAO) as a test of another govt agency (EPA).