Vampires, Wall Warts and Modems, Oh My!

Think just because the TV's off it's not using any energy? Think again. As this story in the New York Times makes clear, many ordinary household appliances and electronic devices -- everything from phone rechargers to cable modems -- are sucking energy from the grid 24/7. Not a ton of energy, mind you, but multiplied across the country, it's a horrendous waste -- roughly a billion dollars a year in squandered electrons. The answer: Government regulation. Why not let market forces do the trick? Well, as the Times explains:

It doesn't cost much to make a more efficient device: sometimes just 50 cents a unit.... But consumers don't consider invisible energy use - "there's no labeling of power use in 'standby,' " Mr. Meier [a senior energy analyst at the International Energy Agency] said, and "no way for people to recognize what a low-standby device is" - making government-imposed energy efficiency the best hope.