Today's News: By Degrees- A plugged in World, with a hunger for electricity

This article was absolutely fascinating- the amount of energy used by gadgets in our homes really adds up- and is growing. You can read the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/business/energy-environment/20efficiency.html?pagewanted=1&emc=eta1

It's striking how little has been done to curb this problem- especially with how successful appliance standards have been- refridgerators are no longer energy hogs- why can't the same be done to stop the skyrocketing energy use of televisions and other personal electronics?

Even more interesting (since i am wearing my BCAP hat) is how similar the arguments against starting to regulate in this area are to the arguments used by building codes opponents (it will cost too much, it might stifle innovation, the federal gov't has no place in this area, etc.) Unfortunately, the bottom line when these arguments succeed in preventing codes and standards from passing is that more energy is used (uneccessarily) and consumers pay higher energy bills (again, unneccessarily).

What do folks think? Will TVs and cell phones soon be rated by a similar program to energy star? Is there some legitimate reasons these electronics should be treated differently than appliances?