So last week the
Washington Post runs
this story on government support for green energy research and development. Except that it was more an article about how the White House is pushing technology that real Americans can't afford to buy, focusing on the price tag of a new LED lightbulb that won a $10 million award from the feds for its developers. The award was for creating an affordable lightbulb, but at $50, the article argues, the bulb isn't affordable.
Kossack A Siegel did an excellent job of pointing out the massive math failure the article contained, and the resulting total miscalculation of how much money a consumer could save over the life of the bulb. His points were echoed by a press release from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, but the damage from this article was already done, and the great lightbulb war of the 21st century reengaged.
That's what sent Energy Secretary Steven Chu to that same Senate committee to testify, and to have to explain to Republican senators on that committee how energy efficiency works, and how creating incentives for technology development works.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and other Republicans criticized Chu on Tuesday over the light bulb prize in an attempt to paint the administration as out of touch with the average consumer.
“Do you think a $50 light bulb is affordable for the American family?” Barrasso asked Chu.
“We are not asking American families to spend $40 or $50 for a light bulb,” Chu said. “The prize was intended to incentivize innovative technologies.”
Republicans have long blasted the Energy Department over its efforts to incentivize the use of more energy-efficient light bulbs. The GOP has trained its fire on a 2007 energy law that requires traditional incandescent light bulbs to be 30 percent more efficient starting this year.
Needless to say, getting Republicans to engage in forward-thinking is a futile task. Efficient lightbulbs. Effective birth control. Child labor laws. The Voting Rights Act. What's going to be the next object in the GOP's war on modernity? My bet is on women's suffrage.