Something smells very bad in the Department of Energy's awarding of a ten million dollar prize to Philips Lighting.  The requirements of a competition the Department sponsored (without congressional authorization) for an LED bulb appear to have been lowered to enable a winner to be declared. If propaganda, not technological progress was the goal of the prize, then the move makes sense. Green enthusiasts desperately want technology to obey their wishes. Any reminder that "green" LED technology actually isn't ready yet would be anathema to propagandists. So a propagandist would not mind handing over 8 figures to a foreign owned company. Bill McMorris of the Washington Free Beacon has obtained documents explaining the compromising of the standards. First of all, the competition's target cost of the bulb was $22. Philips came in at $50. If these expensive bulbs are to be sold to the public as an invetsment that will be paid off in lower electricity bills, the small matter of a...(Read Full Post)