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-Great Cultural Revolution
Biden admin cracks down on washers, fridges in latest climate action: 'Overregulation on steroids'
2023-02-11
[FoxNews] The Biden administration proposed sweeping rules Friday to boost energy efficiency standards for clothes washers and refrigerators in an action it claimed would save consumers money and "significantly reduce pollution."
Oh. Another proposal that will be withdrawn in response to the outcry.
The Department of Energy (DOE) said the two regulations, which would be implemented in 2027 if approved, are projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 233 million metric tons over the next 30 years. The agency also estimated that the energy-efficiency standards taking certain appliance models off the market would save $3.5 billion on an annual basis.

"With today’s proposals, we’re building on a decades-long effort with our industry partners to ensure tomorrow’s appliances work more efficiently and save Americans money," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

According to the announcement, the washers and refrigerators affected by the regulations currently represent 5% of annual residential energy use and 8% of residential electricity use nationwide.

The new standards proposed for the two household appliances are the latest in a series of energy efficiency actions the Biden administration has pursued since taking office two years ago. In 2022 alone, the administration took more than 110 actions on appliances.

On his first day in office in January 2021, President Biden signed an executive order requiring the Department of Energy to make "major revisions" to current appliance regulation standards and standards set by the Trump administration. A month later, the agency listed more than a dozen energy efficiency rules, impacting appliances like water heaters, cooking products and lamps, that it would review.

Experts, though, have argued the appliance regulations are unnecessary and that consumers are already able to freely purchase more efficient appliances.

Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, added that such appliance regulations were part of the Biden administration's "war on energy use."

"By using climate as a kind of finger on the scale in favor of tougher standards, I think that's all the more reason to be suspicious that this is going to be a bad deal from a consumer standpoint," he continued.

"Anybody who wants to buy ultra-efficient appliances is free to do so with or without these regulations. The regulations just make that the only game in town and usually at a higher cost that may or may not be earned back over the life of the appliance."
Posted by:Skidmark

#10  I have an "energy efficient" dryer. I have to run a single load of clothes through twice to get them dry.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2023-02-11 16:03  

#9  #6 As a retired Agent, I would not be unhappy for the Bureau to go the way of the Edsel or DoDo bird
Posted by: Jack Salami   2023-02-11 15:33  

#8  So who wants to keep their bugs on ice?
Posted by: Regular joe   2023-02-11 15:01  

#7  One problem though. Too many entrenched vested interests will fight reform tooth and nail.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2023-02-11 12:41  

#6  Sometimes the government gets it right, sometimes not so much. I remember days in the 1960s and early 1970s when the smog in southern California was enough to literally make people sick, some people became seriously ill and some even died. Regulations to make the internal combustion engines in cars were very effective in reducing that pollution. We still have bad days but nothing like it used to be.

But then they introduced low flow toilets which were demonstrably counter-productive. If you have to flush them twice to clear the bowl you are wasting water instead of conserving it. And then if you have to continually plunge the thing to clear the clogs, that is wasting a lot of water.

Government agencies and departments should be required periodically, maybe every year but at least at the start of each new administration, to write detailed justifications for their continued existence. These justifications could be reviewed by Congress and followed with appropriate legislation which could include the complete elimination of some departments and agencies. In other cases, the budgets could be significantly reduced. Businesses that waste money on ineffective programs fall behind their competition and go bankrupt. Run the government like a business.

Right now I'd say the FBI is the poster boy example of a government agency that needs to justify itself or else be eliminated from the federal budget. FDA, CDC, DoS and DoE should also be scrutinized.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2023-02-11 12:39  

#5  ..start balancing the budget by zeroing out any agency or department created after 1970.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2023-02-11 11:56  

#4  We now know that several government entities are implicated in 60’s political assassinations including a president. Assassination of the president is not consistent with the constitution. There is a real case to eliminate and replace those entities, or to just whack them without replacement. Certainly, the EPA ought to be whacked as well. Washington has become a resort full of petty warlords carving up our country like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Posted by: Super Hose   2023-02-11 11:42  

#3  As Nancy Reagan said "Just say no".
Posted by: Glating Johnson9135   2023-02-11 11:05  

#2  Can you say 'Soviet Central Planning' boys and girls?
Posted by: Procopius2k   2023-02-11 07:19  

#1  Overregulation?
Healthcare. Not so much.

Exclusive – Colombia Shuts Down U.S. Taxpayer-Funded Lab Torturing Monkeys for ‘Research’
Posted by: Skidmark   2023-02-11 06:35  

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