Big Brother' taking the heat over Thermostat plan
By Brandon Lowrey, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 01/17/2008 08:04:20 AM PST
Amid widespread criticism and fear of increasing control over Californians' lives by "Big Brother," a state panel has dropped a plan that would have let utility companies use radio signals to dictate the temperature in residents' homes.
The California Energy Commission, in a bid to cut energy use during peak times or emergencies, had proposed forcing residents to install programmable thermostats that utilities could remotely control.
"What's the next step?" quipped state Assemblyman Rick Keene, one of several politicians who shot down the proposal within days of its inception. "They're going to put cameras in your house because they think they can cut down on domestic violence?"
If "they" had put microphones around the San Fernando Valley, they might have heard some acerbic words from residents who bristled at the thought of invasive technology and governmental policy.
"I think it's pretty stupid," said Justin Sanders, 22, of Canoga Park. "The government controls so much already. Why do they have to control your thermostat?
"If they want to control the weather," he added, "why don't they just control the global warming?"
Officials at the commission's Sacramento office this week said no one would be available to discuss the issue as there has been a flood of calls from reporters since word got out about the proposal last week.
On Wednesday, the commission issued a written statement that the proposal for "smart" thermostats has been officially withdrawn.
"The Energy Commission strongly supports demand-response strategies, and believes that the programmable communicating thermostat offers a valuable tool to dampen peak electricity use," the commission wrote. "Technology can be a powerful tool in managing our energy use. However, it is of utmost importance that consumers make their own energy decisions."
Republican Assemblyman Keene of Chico said the thermostat idea was just another product of what he called California's "nanny government."
He also cited a bill for mandatory pet spaying and neutering that Assemblyman Lloyd Levine introduced over the summer. The Van Nuys Democrat withdrew the measure after it attracted harsh criticism.
Nanny or mediator?
"The term `nanny government' or `nanny state' is thrown around a lot," said Levine, who opposed the thermostat plan. "I don't like that term."
Levine said he favored an educational and incentive-based approach to reducing energy consumption and said the energy commission's plan hadn't been well defined.
But instead of calling the government a "nanny," he prefers to view government as the mediator when individual liberties collide - as "in that whole discussion of smoking in restaurants," Levine said.
"Personally, I have asthma. If I go to a restaurant, (smoking) affects me."
Levine questioned whose rights should prevail in such a situation - those of the smoker, the asthmatic or the business owner who wants to decide whether smoking should be allowed in his restaurant.
In California, the asthmatic wins.
Smoking has been banned in the state's restaurants since 1994 under the first such law in the nation. And the movement is gaining speed: The Calabasas City Council was expected to vote Wednesday night on whether to outlaw smoking in rented apartments.
"California does have the reputation and the nickname of being the `People's Republic of California," said national Libertarian Party spokesman Andrew Davis.
"It's (Gov. Arnold) Schwarzenegger's doing to go green," he said, predicting that will lead to "a lot of government regulation and government limitation of free market, which is something the Libertarian Party stands against."
Outcome questioned
Diane McLean, a 29-year-old from Woodland Hills, said the greater good may have lost out in the thermostat flap.
"The weather around here is so nice, who cares about the thermostat?" she remarked about total individual control.
"Wear a sweater in the winter and go swimming in the summer."
She said that since moderate measures haven't done enough to educate the public to conserve energy, she doesn't blame the state agency for trying to take more drastic action.
"Sometimes," she said, "you have to force people to ask questions."
brandon.lowrey@dailynews.com 818-713-3699
"The Energy Commission strongly supports demand-response strategies, and believes that the programmable communicating thermostat offers a valuable tool to dampen peak electricity use," the commission wrote. "Technology can be a powerful tool in managing our energy use. However, it is of utmost importance that consumers make their own energy decisions."
Yeah. NOW you say that...
