The second-largest air-conditioner manufacturer in the U.S., Goodman Manufacturing, is asking the Bush administration not to roll back a rule approved by former President Clinton requiring new air conditioners to be 30 percent more efficient than the current minimum standard. The industry trade association, the (beautifully named) Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute, wants the administration to cut the efficiency increase to 20 percent. But Ben Campbell, executive vice president of Goodman (which owns Amana, among other brands), says the 30 percent increase would be “a very cost-effective way to reduce harmful air emissions and energy requirements, which as we know from California and other places is a critical issue now.” Twenty-four House Democrats have also asked the administration to stand by the new standard, but an Energy Department staffer said officials were looking at ways to rescind it.
