Here's the good news: New appliance standards from the Energy Department will cut fuel usage and save American consumers $19 billion over 30 years.

But don't quit your day job or plan an exotic vacation with your share of the loot.

"The dramatic energy and pollution savings due to these standards and previous ones issued by the Energy Department since 1997 mark one of the biggest environmental achievements of the Clinton administration," said outgoing Secretary Bill Richardson two days before the start of the Bush presidency. "Manufacturers, energy efficiency advocates and staff at the Energy Department worked in an unprecedented consensus process to develop the clothes washer, lamp ballast and refrigerator standards."

Okay, let's go to the numbers.

Let's agree that the new rules will indeed save $19 billion and that this number can actually be verified by reasonable people. Let us agree that it contains no filler, no junk, no padding, no "unique" accounting concepts, and no rounding up.

In fairness, let's also note that $19 billion in savings over 30 years is $633,333,333.33 per year. Well, okay, so $634 million annually is not quite as impressive as $19 billion over 30 years. Still, it's a bunch of money.

But we do live in a big country. Indeed, according to the Census Bureau, we now have 283.6 million people.

You see where this is going. If we save $634 million per year and have 284 million people, we are each pocketing a mighty $2.23 per person per year.

Okay, the savings are more impressive on a household basis. And it's fair to look at the household numbers because we typically get one electric bill per address.

The Census Bureau tells us that in 1998, the latest year for which figures are available, we had 102,528,000 households and each household included -- on the average -- 2.62 people. So if we multiply $2.23 x 2.62 people we can see that annual household savings amount to $5.76.

I don't know about you, but I'm going to take my $5.76 and spend it on something enlightening, perhaps a new package of light bulbs.

And I better spend my energy savings now, because in future years with more people and money devalued by inflation, I won't get $5.76 and the savings I do get won't buy quite as much.

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