As California faces another drought, the state has sued the federal government over its refusal to let the Left Coast set strict water-efficiency standards for washing machines. Five years ago, the Legislature passed a law requiring that washers sold after 2007 use 8.5 gallons or less per cubic foot of capacity, declining to six gallons by 2010. That means a typical household would nearly halve the amount of water it uses annually to wash clothes – from 15,366 gallons to 8,271 gallons. And more efficient washers use less electricity and natural gas. But it would effectively mean that consumers would need to switch to more expensive water-saving front-loading machines. That didn’t sit well with washer makers. The trade group that represents GE (GE), Whirlpool (WHR), LG (LPL) and other manufacturers lobbied the U.S. Department of Energy to deny a waiver that would allow California to enact standards stricter than federal requirements. Which, of course, was a bit schizophrenic as these companies make handsome profit margins on front-loading washers and promote their water-and-electricity saving features as good for the planet in the age of 
global warming. (For the record, the Green Wombat family uses a front-loader.) "Opponents predict The End of the Laundry World as We Know It if DOE grants a waiver to California," wrote an attorney for the California Energy Commission last year in a petition to the Department of Energy. "Their assertions are premised entirely on the dubious proposition that the California… standard will eliminate every single top-loading washing machine."
California long has set higher appliance efficiency standards – it’s why Californians’ per capita energy use has remained flat while the population has soared – and the feds routinely grant waivers. But in this case the energy bureaucrats, who by the way promote the use of efficient front-load washers, listened to the appliance industry. Late last week the California Energy Commission sued DOE in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, asking that the state washing machine standard be upheld. "Less water use in California clothes washers will eventually save enough to supply a city the size of San Diego every year," said Energy Commission Chair Jackalyne Pfannenstiel in a statement today. We’re going to need every 
drop: today’s papers report that the Sierra snowpack – where we get most of our drinking water – is at its lowest level since 1988.
Then again, maybe the DOE’s denial is a bit of red state-blue state politics. After all, front-loaders are de rigueur in peacenik Europe and have caught on here in the coastal strongholds among ecosexuals and other treehuggers who like their appliances green and well-designed.
A tip of the hat to Vindu Goel, Green Wombat’s former colleague at the San Jose Mercury News, for the tip about the lawsuit.
Green Wombat 
Fiddling while Rome burns. Nothing new for our emperor with no clothes and his coalition of the swooning.
Well, the red states are 50 years behind California.
Yeah, its all Bushes fault but don’t worry Al Gore will save us! Hey, by the way, why didn’t Clinton do anything about this? How about the former Governor? Also, why is it that auto fuel economy improved every decade from the 1950s EXCEPT the decade when Clinton was in power!
I am a Republican and I do own a front-loader and I DO think their ought to be tougher water standards, fuel economy standards and drilling in ANWAR but I don’t think everything is Bush’s fault!
Until the LEFT starts realizing that those of us on the RIGHT start ‘shutting down’ to their arguments when they start blaming the President for everything, nothing will get done.
As a former Cali resident, I can tell you I was the ONLY person I knew that had a front loader and MOST of my friends where ‘environmentalists’!
I’ve lived in the UK for awhile and if these are the same machines they use there for heaven’s sake don’t buy them.
They look similar, but in the UK the machines were washer/dryer combos…and you basically had to iron all of your presentable clothes coming out of these things or only wash 3-4 garments at a time.
If they do not suffer from the deficiencies that exist in the UK then no opposition here, but I never want to go back to spending 4x the amount of time on getting clean, dry, presentable clothes as is the case in the UK.
I don’t understand why people always want to blame other people for the problems in this country. What ever happened to doing the right thing? or was that not ever thought of before? The information is being passed on to us not because of someone trying to make you spend time ironing your clothes again, or because someone from another party is trying to get your vote. last I knew the president was not a scientist. these politians may do some backwords things but who the heck cares. I want to do what is right for me and my children not for a democrat or republican. Next time you do something take 5 seconds out of your busy lives to think about what it may be destroying!