Energy Vampires: Pulling the Plug on Idle Electronics (Op-Ed)

Pierre Delforge is the director of high-tech energy efficiency for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Since the 1980s, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have implemented efficiency programs and labels, focusing on appliances that used the most energy, such as furnaces, water heaters and refrigerators. The programs have been remarkably effective at cutting energy waste and sparking innovation: For example, new clothes washers use 75