Via the New York Times:

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.

To the right is a picture of the “air purifier” that got an EnergyStar label. The report also finds that once a company is EnergyStar certified, it can download the logo and slap it on just about anything, even if they never submitted the product itself for certification. As for products that do get submitted, generally speaking the government just takes the manufacturer’s word for its energy consumption stats. For instance, according to a report on the Today Show, a refrigerator that carried the EnergyStar label used “twice as much energy as claimed.” They don’t do much, if any, independent testing.

So the whole thing is a sham. Are some products that carry the EnergyStar designation really more energy efficient? Sure. Just like some products that don’t carry the EnergyStar designation might really be more energy efficient than ones that do. Good luck figuring out which ones. It’s a crapshoot, which obviously defeats the purpose of having the designation at all. Naturally, instead of simply shutting down the operation (like they would if it were a private company), they’re going to “reform” it and “strengthen the program.”

And this is the government that some people want to put in charge of the nation’s health care.