It’s not a done deal YET, but it looks extremely probable: California is set to ban those high-energy consuming televisions.

On Tuesday, executives and consultants for the Arlington, Va., trade group asked members of the California Energy Commission to instead let consumers use their wallets to decide whether they want to buy the most energy-saving new models of liquid-crystal display and plasma high-definition TVs.

“Voluntary efforts are succeeding without regulations,” said Doug Johnson, the association’s senior director for technology policy. Too much government interference could hamstring industry innovation and prove expensive to manufacturers and consumers, he warned.

But those pleas didn’t appear to elicit much support from commissioners at a public hearing on the proposed rules that would set maximum energy-consumption standards for televisions to be phased in over two years beginning in January 2011. A vote could come as early as Nov. 4.

The association’s views weren’t shared by everyone in the TV business. Representatives of some TV makers, including top-seller Vizio Inc. of Irvine, said they would have little trouble complying with tighter state standards without substantially increasing prices.

Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with something like this. I think California is within its right to restrict excessive energy use. It shouldn’t HAVE to, though. Individuals ought to be concerned themselves, because meaningless energy-suckers hurt the community at large. I’m not big on state-sponsored “green” measures, but if the consumers are so bent on their own destruction, something must be done.

I think the current mess we are in (planned obsolescence, contamination of our lakes and streams and properties, the rabid consumerism that has replaced our capitalistic economy since the 1950s) is a result of the lack of community concern in our country. While I don’t like the state having to enforce protectionist regulations, it sometimes become necessary when the population will not be self-governed. I know this is a deviation from my politically “conservative” and “libertarian” roots, but to quote the words of Benjamin Rush: I am neither a Democrat or an Aristocrat. I am a Christocrat.

Tags: energy policy, environmentalism, news