Only In California, New Law Looks To Ban Black Cars, HDTVs

Oh what I state I reside in. Only here can we have some of the craziest legislation I've seen in a long while! Flying under the banner of global warming solutions, and good for the environment, two proposals have been making their rounds and are making a bit of news.

The first is the latest revision of AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act, which has also been know as the Cool Cars act. The newest revisions may soon restrict the paint color options specifically banning all dark hues.

Apparently, the California Air Resources Board believes that the AC systems of dark colored cars need to work harder than a light colored car. Thus creating more work for the engine of a darker car – especially after sitting in the sun for a few hours.

Cool Paints was identified as an Early Action strategy, to be in place no later than January 1, 2010. This strategy is based on measures to reduce the solar heat gain in a vehicle parked in the sun. A cooler interior would make drivers less likely to activate the air conditioner, which increases carbon dioxide emissions.

Potential approaches include reformulation of paint to reflect near-infrared sunlight, parked car ventilation, and solar reflective window glazing. It is expected that cool paints, together with reflective glazing, will reduce the soak temperature of the typical vehicle parked in the sun by 5 to10 degrees celsius.

The second wondrous piece of legislation coming from the desk of the California Energy Commission looks to ban the sale of TV sets that do not meet new efficiency standards. According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) the new law would immediately take 25 percent of TVs off the market.

The ban and it's ramifications are highly debatable. The CEA of course believes the ban is a bad idea and could potentially cost California $50 million annually in tax revenue and the elimination of 4,600 retail jobs. On the other hand the CEC believes the two tiered program could end up saving Californians between $18 and $30 a year per TV set in energy costs.

Either way you look at it it comes down to the government overstepping its boundaries yet again. We don't need senseless legislation to give us cooler cars or more energy efficient TVs. As Wired.com's Jose Fermoso wrote, "Most of the TVs that would be banned by the proposal would be larger TVs that are already losing steam in the market anyway."

As to the Cool Cars Act, that is just ridiculous. If they want to cut greenhouse emissions then lets focus the energy where its need and not on the color scheme on my car. We all know a black car gets a little hotter than a white one, so what! The AC in my car runs for as long as I'm in it. It's not on a thermostat type control. It is either off or on - no two ways about it.