Turn out the lights …

The federal government used to concern itself with a quite limited list of duties: coining money, running the post office, handling foreign relations, keeping the sea lanes free of pirates.

Not so much today. Although the piracy problem could probably use some better focused efforts, Washington in the early 21st century is far too busy meddling in our domestic lives in ways the Founders could hardly have imagined, from dictating the size of our washing machines and toilet tanks to deciding what kids should eat for lunch to, well ... light bulbs.

In February, President Obama directed the Energy Department to update its energy conservation standards for everyday household appliances such as dishwashers, lamps and microwave ovens. Laws on the books already required new efficiency standards for household and commercial appliances, but they have been backlogged in a tangle of missed deadlines, bureaucratic disputes and litigation.

At the time, Mr. Obama said: "This will save consumers money, this will spur innovation, and this will conserve tremendous amounts of energy."

Now, fresh off his supposed triumph as the House over the weekend narrowly OK'd his vast "cap and trade" scheme to tax energy production and industrial emissions, President Obama on Monday announced he is also setting new standards for fluorescent and incandescent lighting as part of a series of steps to promote energy efficiency across the country.

"I know light bulbs may not seem sexy,'' Mr. Obama said during a brief appearance at the White House. "But this simple action holds enormous promise, because 7 percent of all the energy consumed in America is used to light our homes and our businesses.''

The two sections of Article II of the Constitution which list the powers of the president run to only five paragraphs. One may hunt in vain, among the power to appoint ambassadors and the power to grant pardons for federal offenses, for any presidential power to set "light bulb standards."

In fact, Compact Fluorescent Bulbs -- those usually swirly topped, screw-in bulbs that sell for as much as $14 but promise a life span of four years or more -- contain toxic mercury. Although an individual CFL may contain as little as 4 milligrams of mercury -- one tenth of the amount in the commercial length tubes -- there are a lot of them out there, already heading for the landfills.

In addition, "Consumers haven't warmed" to the new lights, The Associated Press reports -- possibly explaining why Mr. Obama wants to make them mandatory, removing any "hope" of resisting his light-bulb advice. "The light quality hasn't been satisfactory, most take time to turn on and aren't dimmable."

This spring, The New York Times reported: "A lot of people these days are finding the new compact fluorescent bulbs anything but simple. Consumers who are trying them say they sometimes fail to work, or wear out early."

Experts say problems with production quality are compounded by poor package instructions. Using the bulbs incorrectly, such as by screwing low-end bulbs into fixtures where heat is prone to build up, can greatly shorten their lives. But some also blame the government for the quality problems, saying an intensive federal push to lower the price essentially backfired by encouraging overseas manufacturers to use cheap components, The Times reports.

Meantime, as the president cheerfully assured the public Monday that all we need to do is "screw it in," he seemed oblivious to the number of American employers busily figuring out the costs of moving their operations overseas -- where they would be free to produce all the CO₂ they want, though without employing any American workers -- should his absurd "carbon dioxide tax" become law.

Also getting the silent treatment at the White House were reports that the Environmental Protection Agency suppressed an internal report that was skeptical of claims about global warming, including whether carbon dioxide must be strictly regulated by the federal government.

The Great Depression didn't get really "Great" until Congress triggered international economic disaster by enacting the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Meddling by those who haven't even bothered to read the bills in front of them -- let alone understand their full consequences -- really can make things substantially worse.

President Obama and the green extreme seem in an awful hurry to get their "carbon" money-grab enacted before anyone can ask questions. Why would that be?