The California Energy Commission passed a new policy this week that would require all TVs sold in the Golden State to meet specific energy-efficiency standards. The law is the first of its kind in the country and is projected to save the state over $1 billion in annual energy costs.

Beginning January 2011, new standards will take effect that prevent the sale of energy-sucking televisions with screen sizes 58" and smaller, requiring new models to consume 33% less electricity by 2011 and 49% less by 2013.

As the standard for television size has grown, so has the energy consumption of the appliances, increasing from 3-4% in the 90s to 8-10% in 2008. Without intervention, this number is expected to climb to 18% in 2023, according to the commission. The new standards will reduce energy consumption, thereby lowering energy bills. It will also help avoid the construction of a new power plant and reduce carbon dioxide gas emissions.

The regulations include both liquid-crystal display and plasma HD TVs and the old-fashioned cathode ray tube and rear-projection sets.

"The real winners of these new TV energy efficiencies are California consumers, who will be saving billions of dollars and conserving energy while preserving their choice to buy any size or type of TV," Energy Commission Chairman Karen Douglas said in a statement.

Some retail groups and trade associations aren't exactly fans of the new regulations, claiming it needlessly limits consumer freedom, and has potential to cause employee layoffs.

"Manufacturers are already making energy-efficient models, so imposing regulations is absolutely unnecessary, " said Jason Oxman, senior vice-president of industry affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association, which represents companies within the consumer technology industry.

The regulations don't require consumers to get rid of their current TV sets, and wouldn't prohibit them from buying less energy-efficient models online or across state borders (though we can't imagine why you would want an energy wasting model vs. a more eco-friendly option.)

via CNN

Mariah Carey has always been known not just for her killer pipes, but for her incredibly diva-esque attitude towards fame. One cannot deny the woman is extremely talented, but her recent demands for an upcoming Christmas-lighting ceremony in London are a bit out of control, not to mention unfriendly to animals and the environment.

In preparation for the ceremony at Westfield shopping center, Mariah sent over a list of requests for the event, among them, 20 white kittens and 100 white doves to surround her on the podium. Really?

"We did manage to source the doves that we were going to release into the sky, but the kittens proved terribly difficult," claims a source. "In the end, it was made clear that due to health and safety, there was no way we could have the animals at Westfield. Pets are not allowed in Westfield - that rule would apply for everyone."

Aside from health and safety, we're pretty sure letting 100 white doves loose and putting 20 baby kittens in a crowded shopping center is breaking all kinds of animal rights and ethics principles!

Mariah has also requested to be showered with butterfly-shaped confetti on a pink podium while she's waving a magic wand. Confetti isn't the most planet-friendly decoration, but there are more important things to worry about, like the Rolls Royce that will be transporting Mariah, her 15 closest friends and 80 security guards to the event. What kind of gas is that going to waste?

"We have worked extremely hard to make sure that Mariah's event is fantastic. Even the model of car had to be changed six times to one that her people liked," continued the source.

We are big fans of whimsical and happy events celebrating the holidays, and believe Mariah does deserve to be honored as the fabulous musician she is, but this is a bit ridiculous. What do you think?

via contact music

The moment teen vampire lovers across the nation have been waiting for has officially arrived. Last night was the official opening night of New Moon, the next film in the wildly popular and heart racing Twilight series. Even without Rob Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and the rest of the cast jet-setting around the globe for the past month to promote the film, this was sure to be a success. After all, tickets began selling out weeks ago, and movie-goers began camping out for seats days ahead of time!

Did you get your tickets in time? Are you going this weekend? If you caught a late-night showing last night, tell us what you thought of the film in the comments! Did the film, with its new director, live up to your expectations? And naturally we have to ask...

Did New Moon make you want to change teams?

• Yes, I'm on Team Edward now!
• Yes, I'm on Team Jacob now!
• No, I'm sticking with Team Edward.
• No, I'm sticking with Team Jacob.
• I really can't stand Twilight.

View Results

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No spoilers, please!

If you're not a Twi-Hard, tell us what movie YOU'RE opting to watch (or book you plan on reading) this weekend instead.

It's a sad day for Oprah fans across the world.. or a happy day, depending on how you look at it. The media mogul known for her generous contributions to charity announced that she will be ending her long-running talk show program, the most successful of all-time, as of Fall 2011. Oprah plans on extending her global brand by taking her talk show to her very own channel!

The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) will be a joint venture between her production company and Discovery Communications and will launch in January 2011.

A spokesperson for Oprah confirmed the news and said the big O will be making the announcement on her show Friday.

“The sun will set on the Oprah show as its 25th season draws to a close on Sept. 9, 2011,” WABC said.

CBS Television Distribution commented on the announcement this afternoon, saying:

“We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors. We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well.”

What do you think of the news? Would you pay extra to get the Oprah Channel and catch her program?

via NY Times

We tend to focus more on the "do good for others" side of things around here, but honesly, who hasn't dreamt about winning $10,000 to spend on whatever you want? New clothes, new video games, a new TV, maybe a massage... the possibilities are endless and quite frankly, it's really fun to think about.

Bing is giving you the chance to make that dream a reality with their Win $10k in L.A. cashback sweepstakes, where you could not only win a shopping spree worth $10,000, but a trip to LA including hotel, a Hollywood makeover and time in the studio with E!'s Ryan Seacrest.

To enter to win and earn an automatic 100 points for your Cause, check out Bing's sponsor profile.

You know what Bing is because of their commercials, and because they are quickly becoming one of the most popular and innovative search engines on the web. Have you tried Bing yet? What do you think of it?

Thanks in large part to all of our members who voted for us in the 2009 ThinkSocial Awards, SocialVibe was chosen as an official winner this week. SocialVibe President and Co-Founder Joe Marchese attended an awards ceremony this morning as the The Paley Center for Media honored all winners, which included Kiva.org and The March 18th Movement.

The ThinkSocial Awards honor individuals, institutions and collaborations that represent powerful models of how social media can be used to address global problems.

This is a tremendous honor and we are extremely grateful to our members and partners (and our hardworking team) who have helped us get this far. Who knew our tiny little startup launched a year and a half ago would be receiving such an incredible industry honor.

Thanks to all who voted for us in the awards!

The UK band The Arctic Monkeys are the latest to contribute album sales of their new single to charity. All proceeds of the Monkey's 10-inch vinyl single of Cornerstone, the second single from their recent album Humbug, will help the fight against poverty through Oxfam.

The vinyl album will also feature three brand new b-sides: 'Catapult', 'Sketchead', and 'Fright Lined Dining Room'. Each comes with a special download code that allows the fan to get an mp3 version of the song online for free. Plus, the band has hidden "golden tickets" for their upcoming sold-out show in the UK in random copies of the single. Cool!

Fans can buy their copy through Oxfam's charity shop and in the top 50 of the charity shop's music stores beginning November 16.

via Look To The Stars

Youngsters around the world are going to be a little blue this upcoming Christmas season, as the US Postal Service is officially ending their decades-long Letters to Santa program that earns children a response letter from Santa's elves and helpers, postmarked in the North Pole. The program begun in the small Alaska town of North Pole in 1954 and enlists volunteers to respond to letters from children writing to Santa.

The sudden change is a result of the Maryland postal worker discovering that one of last year's letter-writing volunteers was a registered sex offender (he was stopped before he responded to any letters). Though the USPS had tightened security the year prior by requiring volunteers to show ID, the discovery caused Operation Santa to temporarily suspend their program in New York and Chicago last year. This little scare has caused them to further tighten the reigns on similar programs nationwide, as they fear for the safety of children whose full names and addresses were readily available.

Residents and officials in the Christmas-loving town of North Pole, which is decked out in candy cane light posts and has street names such as Kris Kringle Drive and Santa Claus Lane, are more than disappointed about the program's end, and have even gone as far as to call the USPS "Grinchlike." Mayor Doug Isaacson said it was indeed necessary to protect children's safety, but is upset with the USPS' delay in alerting North Pole volunteers of the change, as it requires extensive changes to their program that they will be unable to make in time for the holidays.

"It's Grinchlike that the Postal Service never informed all the little elves before the fact," he said. "They've been working on this for how long?"

The new security changes will require children's family names and addresses to be hidden, says agency spokeswoman Sue Brennan. The last names will be redacted and the addresses will be replaced with codes that match computerized addresses only available to post office staff. It is up to the local post offices if they want to participate in the program and deal with the extra hassle of shielding this information.

Pamela Moody, an Anchorage-based agency spokeswoman, said this kind of extensive preparation isn't feasible in Alaska.

"It's always been a good program, but we're in different times and concerned for the privacy of the information," she said.

Of course the agency stresses that kids can still send letters to Santa, as the Operation Santa Program will still be maintained, it's just that they may not receive a letter from the North Pole.

Unless North Pole, Alaska is able to accommodate the new security restrictions, the program will be discontinued this year.

This is so bittersweet, but we agree, there is no price too great for the safety of our children. What do you think? Did you ever write a letter to Santa as a child?

via AP