Army Adopts New Sustainable Policy for Buildings, Lighting
The U.S. Army issued two new policy memorandums on October 27, one to improve its high-performance green buildings standards and another to require efficient light bulbs.
The "Memorandum for Sustainable Design and Development Policy Update," changes the way the Army approaches facility design. Preliminary analysis by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicates energy savings over current design of 45% or greater.
The "Memorandum on the Utilization of Efficient Lighting," aims to completely replace all inefficient incandescent lighting on Army installations within five years. Only efficient light bulbs can be purchased when older ones burn out. New bulbs must meet standards outlined in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which requires manufacture of energy efficient light bulbs, with efficiency standards phasing in between 2012-2014. See the Army press releases on buildings and lighting , as well as the new policies on buildings and lighting .
FTC Requires EnergyGuide Labels for Televisions
Televisions manufactured after May 10, 2011 must display EnergyGuide labels, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on October 27.
The familiar removable labels, which have long been used on home appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators, will provide energy cost information.
In March 2009, the FTC sought comments on whether EnergyGuide labels should be required on a range of consumer electronics, including televisions. The new label will display the television set's estimated annual energy cost and a comparison with the annual energy cost of other televisions with similar screen sizes.
Labels must be display on the front of the televisions and starting July 11, 2011, websites that sell televisions have to display an image of the full EnergyGuide label. See the FTC press release, the Federal Register Final Rule notice , and examples of the FTC labels .
The FTC is also proposing revisions to guidance it gives marketers to help them avoid misleading environmental claims about their products. On October 6, the agency announced a public comment period about changes to Green Guides on such topics as renewable energy and carbon offset claims.
The FTC, in its proposed revisions, notes that general "eco-friendly" claims are difficult, if not impossible, to substantiate. The agency will accept public input until December 10, 2010. See the
FTC press release, which includes an electronic link for comment submissions, the
summary of proposed Green Guides changes , and the
full list of proposed changes .
