Op-ed: Federal standards have helped technology advance
(NEWSER) - Last week, Michele Bachmann introduced a bill to repeal the energy efficiency standards for lightbulbs, because, as she said, the “government has no business telling an individual what kind of lightbulb to buy.” She’s not the only conservative politician who’s upset (see here and here ). All the complainers are misguided, writes Roger A. Pielke Jr. in the New York Times , but they can be excused for their beliefs—because the truth is that, while the “technologies and the standards that guide their deployment have revolutionized American society,” they’ve also been so successful as to make the government’s role “invisible.” More»