Because the Conservatives are not the majority party in the UK and because a general election is unlikely to be held there for at least a year, the Conservatives' policy position is probably more public relations ploy than legal reality. But that doesn't mean that environmental groups in other countries aren't paying attention, with a report now circulating in Australian government circles suggesting a ban should be imposed there.
A never before known consulting firm Digital CEnergy, which has floated the idea to the Federal Governments Greenhouse Office, appears to be more interested in media mileage for themselves than a tangible idea that realistically will have legs in the marketplace.
The idea to ban LCD and Plasma TVs by October next shows that the Federal Government is dealing with an organisation that is so far out of touch with reality that one has to question the sanity of the whole proposal.
Consumer sentiment on the issue is already being expressed as one reader of the Sydney Morning Herald wrote: " This is the same crap that always rises its' head in this "democratic" country." Get a life; you cannot regulate serious matters in Australia, so how on earth do you propose to regulate a minor issue like this?
A follow-up news item from Smarthouse calls into question the legitimacy of the consulting firm that authored the government-funded report recommending the ban:
As furore rages over suggestions that current plasma and LCD TV's should be banned in Australia because of their high use of power, questions are being raised about the validity of Digital CEnergy and Keith Jones, the author of a report that has already been slammed by Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Keith Jones is the Chair of a number of Standards Australia committees relating to digital television and is the former General Manager of the Panasonic TV factory at Penrith. He also appears to be the author of several reports that have gone nowhere in Australia.
While it appears that a ban on plasma and LCD televisions is probably a long way from reality in Australia (or anywhere else), it does seem that the idea is gaining traction among envirnomentalists concerned about suggested links between energy use and global warming trends.
Video Savant 
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