Energy Star: Not So Reliable After All

The U.S. government's Energy Star program is shining a little less brightly this week, after an investigation by the Government Accountability Office highlighted some embarrassing lapses. As The New York Timesreported late last week, the GAO, acting at the behest of Congress, was able to obtain Energy Star approval for phony products including a comically large, gasoline-powered alarm clock and an air purifier jury-rigged with a feather duster.

While Energy Star, a partnership between the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, repairs its credibility, consumers looking for energy efficient appliances may have to do more of their own legwork.