About a year ago, Clark talked about a big fight between the Bush administration and the air conditioning industry regarding an improvement in the efficiency of our air conditioners. At the time, it appeared as if the air conditioning industry would not have to improve the quality of its products, despite the Bush camp's push. The idea was that these more efficient units would use less energy, so there would be less of a dependence on foreign sources for energy. Clark was not very happy with the fact that it died, but he still encouraged people to buy high-efficiency A/C units. There is a direct payback in what you save on your bills with one of these units. And now that advice appears to have paid off. According to the Dow Jones News Wires, the air conditioning industry is yielding to the Bush administration’s urges. So, in the future, you will have to buy one of these higher-efficiency units. Once the scale of production increases, these units will be the only ones on the market and prices will eventually go down. In the meantime, if your unit dies this summer, go for the more efficient unit. It will pay you back tenfold the longer you live there.