Restricting Energy on TV's?

Is there a worse state to live in than California? Not only do they have earthquakes, the worse gun restrictions in America, and a host of flaky celebrities, but now the state is going to restrict the amount of energy a television can use. A fucking TV! That is one of the most invasive things a government has ever done. At least it is state mandated and not federal. A measure such as this could easily pave the way for a national restriction down the road, but we are talking about televisions. How much energy can a television set really use? I thought the energy-guzzlers were heating and air, stoves, and refrigerators.  
It is not that I want to just consume as much power as possible. I pay an electric bill just like everyone else and would prefer to keep it as low as possible. The problem is this measure is being legislated. Let me explain. Something like making a law that says TV's have to be more energy efficient is a fairly innocuous thing. That is where it starts. I see ideas like this one as a pretext for further, more restrictive laws down the road. For an example, what if another step would be to limit how much energy your computer uses or what wattage the power supply could be. Then how much energy a household uses in a day could be called into question. Depending on how many people live in your house you could be capped at a certain threshold each day. You see, I am one that is often afraid of falling down a slippery slope. And maybe that is a me problem, but it is still a possibility. Look at gun laws over the last few decades. If the NRA was not the behemoth of a wonderful lobbying force that it is we may not be able to own pellet rifles by now. In general, more laws are a bad thing.
I know everyone has a hard-on for all things environmental nowadays, but that does not mean the government should be able to tell me how much power my TV can use.
More after the jump...

I also do not want the government knowing everything I do on my computer and being able to access any phone call they want just because some terrorists attacked America. The same way after 9/11 the Patriot Act was pushed through while we were still in shock, climate change laws are being written without the public knowing all of the facts. The sheer amount of controversy and the seeming split among the scientific community alone make me want to pause and wait out the truth. There is a line that is too far, and I think this law is crossing that line. Environmental obsessive-compulsive disorder is taking root in many of our lives, and I am choosing to stay out of it for the most part, although I do recycle cans for money. But only because there is money involved. If manufacturers begin making televisions with a picture that is as nice as mine that happen to be energy efficient and cost absolutely not a penny more then I am all for it. Leave us some freedoms or you might as well end it all now and put bullets in our heads.