The war on cheap incandescent light bulbs began with the Bush administration and was expanded by the Obama administration. Team Trump is now preparing to end the madness.
Reuters reports:
U.S. rolls back standards on energy saving light bulbsThe Trump administration on Friday said it has finalized a decision to roll back a 2007 rule calling for energy-efficient light bulbs, a move that states including New York and California are challenging in the courts.The administration finalized a proposal made in September to roll back the standard that Congress passed in 2007 when George W. Bush, a Republican, was president and which was to come into effect next year. The Department of Energy said that increasing the efficiency of bulbs could cost consumers more than 300% compared to incandescent bulbs and that Americans do not need regulation because many are already buying efficient bulbs.“The American people will continue to have a choice on how they light their homes,” said Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette.The move is part of the administration’s push to ease regulations by requiring agencies to ditch two old regulations for each one they propose. The administration has also rolled back Obama-era regulations on pollution and emissions as it seeks to maximize oil, gas and coal production.
The effort to force American consumers to use LED bulbs was purportedly all about fighting climate change, so naturally the left is not happy with this change in policy.
This New York Times report from John Schwartz barely hides its contempt:
Trump Administration Blocks Energy Efficiency Rule for Light BulbsIn announcing the move, the secretary of energy, Dan Brouillette, who is a former auto lobbyist, said the administration had chosen “to protect consumer choice by ensuring that the American people do not pay the price for unnecessary overregulation from the federal government.” The new rule was unnecessary, he said, because innovation and technology are already “increasing the efficiency and affordability of light bulbs without federal government intervention.”The rule, which would have gone into effect on Jan. 1, was required under a law passed in 2007 during the administration of President George W. Bush.Noah Horowitz, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s center for energy efficiency standards, assailed the move, saying the administration had “just thumbed its nose at Congress, America’s families and businesses, and the environment.”…The light bulb rollback is part of a multipronged effort by the Trump administration to weaken a broad array of rules designed to fight climate change, many of which were passed under the Obama administration.
Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette talked about the change on Twitter:
Let the American people decide for themselves. What a refreshing concept. The left is always talking about the importance of choice. You would think they’d love this idea.
Featured image via YouTube.
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