Energy Star - Take a tour of an energy-efficient home

Today's topics are "Best Of Clark" repeats from recent shows

The Federal Reserve has issued new rules for credit card companies and Clark couldn't be happier about it. First of all, credit card companies won't be able to change the terms of your contract in just 15 days. Companies could jack up your interest rate to an ungodly amount and they were only required to tell you 15 days ahead of time. Now, they must give you 45 days notice before changing a rate. That gives you time to switch cards or plans if you want. Companies will also have to tell you what kind of penalties you could face if you pay a bill late or makes some other error. You will be informed about what rewards the card offers and it must be written in a way you understand. In addition, when you transfer a balance, companies must tell you how the rates apply on transferred money and remaining balances. Right now, when you make a payment on a card with different rates, the money goes toward the lowest interest rate. From now on, the money will go toward the highest rate. Credit cards are going to fight this until the very end but Clark wants you to know what will probably happen.

More than four years ago, Clark published a poll asking people what price gas would have to reach for them to change their driving habits. The No. 1 answer was $2. About 44 percent said gas would have to reach $2 before they would drive less. Well, that was in February of 2003, when gas was $1.35 a gallon. Today the average price in the country is more than $3 a gallon. And, in a recent ABC poll, people said they would be compelled to change what they drive or how much they drive once gas hits about $4.40. In the west, the price was $5.12 cents. It just goes to show that people adapt to change just fine, even though they may put up a bit of a fuss.

It's a lot easier to conserve energy these days than many people realize. One way is through the Energy Star program, a joint program between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The idea is that everyone can save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices. Today, Clark talked with a representative from the program, who said there are things people can do all year round to save energy. The first thing you should do is check out the Energy Star site, which has an interactive tool called "Energy Star Home." It takes you step-by-step throughout the home, showing you how can save money in each room.

Property taxes are going up all around the country. On average, property taxes are up 13 percent even after accounting for inflation, according to The Wall Street Journal. It's as a result of the real estate bubble and it's affecting how interested people are in buying homes these days. If politicians were doing their jobs correctly and rolling back taxes, property taxes wouldn't go up very much at all. The public is livid over the increase and public outcries are happening all over the country. The more money that comes into local and state governments, the more they will spend. At the federal level, that's what happens because they can just print money. But states are required constitutionally to balance the budget. Typically, whatever money comes in is spent. But we need to control spending at all levels. That goes for politicians too. Clark thinks what we need is a nationwide rollback in property tax rates. If we had tight controls on spending, residents wouldn't be feeling this burden in states that have experienced real estate bubbles. If you live in a state with citizen-sponsored ballot items, that is how you do your part. In states where that is not an option, elect people who don't just talk about controlling spending, but who actually do it.