You probably pass by them all the time on the street without giving them a second glance: those gray cylinders on telephone poles. They are called distribution transformers -- and they are a crucial component of the electric grid. They serve to reduce the high voltage used in distribution lines to the lower voltages we use in our homes, offices and businesses.

Earthjustice has worked for several years to strengthen efficiency standards for these units because the inefficient models waste a huge amount of energy. In 2007, along with Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and several states, we sued the Department of Energy to force improvements to weak standards adopted under President Bush. When DOE settled that case with us in 2009 and agreed to release revised standards, we had high hopes that President Obama’s professed commitment to energy efficiency would translate into strong new standards. But yesterday, DOE released dismally weak new standards that pass up the cost-effective energy savings that DOE’s own analysis shows that stronger standards would deliver.

What a listing for a freezer on Newegg's website should also tell you, but doesn’t, is that the freezer uses so much energy that it will cost you around $90 each year just to run.

Back in July, I wrote about the lengths to which shoppers sometimes have to go in order to find legally required energy efficiency information about appliances for sale online. In response, more than 10,000 of you wrote in supporting our petition telling the Federal Trade Commission to require online retailers to display that information front and center in their product listings.

Unfortunately, some retailers still have not got the message that this information is important to consumers. While some retailers continue to bury energy efficiency information in hard-to-find places on their websites, others don't provide it at all.

Take, for example, Newegg. The 12th largest online retailer in the country according to Internet Retailer, it lists this Haier freezer for $679. The listing says the freezer “meets your food storage needs, whether your goal is to save money buying grocery items in bulk, or you're looking to preserve in-season fruits, vegetables, or meat.”

What the listing should also tell you, but doesn’t, is that the freezer uses so much energy that it will cost you around $90 each year just to run. No model in its class has been less efficient than that since at least 2007. That additional cost of 13 percent each year should be disclosed on Newegg’s website, but it isn’t. And it's not as if Newegg can't find this information: Haier posts a copy of the model’s Energy Guide label (which understates most products' energy costs by almost 10 percent) on its website, and other retailers post that label clearly when they list the model.

Today, we begin with a quiz:

Which of the following should online consumers have to do to be able to evaluate the operating costs of an appliance?

1. Scroll to the very bottom of a long page of text, then visit other websites and do the same until they have enough data points to make their own comparisons.
2. Click on a button labeled "Larger Photo."
3. Follow a link labeled "Manual."
4. Find and follow a link labeled "Take a Product Tour," and then select a tab labeled "Documents."

The answer, of course, is none of the above. Energy efficiency information is an important consideration for those who want to know the real costs of appliances before purchasing them, and consumers are legally entitled to it. But many online retailers require consumers who want it to jump through just these sorts of ridiculous hoops, as you can see here, here, here and here. (Or, click through the slideshow below to see screenshots.)

Earthjustice, today, asks the Federal Trade Commission to end this practice.

On Monday, the House of Representatives will consider legislation authored by Rep. Joe Barton to repeal federal energy efficiency standards for light bulbs, set to take effect next year. The standards have the support of environmental groups, consumer advocates, and lighting manufacturers and will save energy, reduce household electric bills and spur investment in advanced lighting technologies. 

But facts are an outdated metric for assessing legislative policy choices. Instead, the push to repeal light bulb efficiency standards comes wrapped in beliefs and feelings.