{"id":375905,"date":"2025-04-20T12:15:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T10:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375905"},"modified":"2025-04-20T12:15:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T10:15:25","slug":"claim-forcing-substandard-climate-friendly-appliances-on-people-saves-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375905","title":{"rendered":"Claim: Forcing Substandard Climate Friendly Appliances on People Saves Money"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFreedom to choose\u201d is bad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Appliance efficiency standards save consumers billions, reduce pollution and fight climate change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published: April 17, 2025 10.41pm AEST
David J. Vogel<\/a>
Professor Emeritus of Business Ethics and Political Science, University of California, Berkeley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump has said he wants to reverse decades of regulations about energy efficiency<\/a> in American household appliances, claiming doing so will provide Americans with \u201cfreedom to choose<\/a>\u201d products that meet their needs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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In an April 9, 2025, statement<\/a>, Trump claimed he could alter government regulations on his own<\/a>, without the legally required process of public notice and comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as a scholar of environmental regulations<\/a>, I know those regulations were created to save energy and lower utility bills for consumers. I also know that many companies and consumers have supported federal regulation to strengthen energy efficiency standards<\/a> and generally have opposed<\/a> weakening them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These appliance standards have reduced American energy use, including electricity. The existing national standards are projected to reduce overall national energy consumption by 10%<\/a> between 2025 and 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making appliances more energy efficient has proved popular.<\/strong>\u00a0A national survey released by the Consumer Federation of America in 2018 found that 71% of Americans \u201csupport the idea that the government should set and update energy efficiency standards<\/a>\u00a0for appliances.\u201d Significantly,\u00a072% of those surveyed named lowering electrical bills and 57% stated that avoiding construction of new power plants to keep electricity rates from rising were important reasons to increase appliance efficiency.<\/strong>\u00a0

\u2026Read more:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/theconversation.com\/appliance-efficiency-standards-save-consumers-billions-reduce-pollution-and-fight-climate-change-253673<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t understand why greens like David Vogel have such a problem with freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If 71% of Americans prefer more efficient appliances, there is no need for a law to enforce appliance efficiency \u2013 most people will choose energy efficient appliances of their own free will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 29% who have other priorities likely have good reasons. Sometimes the low energy choice is a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in 2021 California introduced laws banning stationary generators and gasoline powered fire pumps, everything has to be solar and batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Net Zero California Governor Just Banned Backup Generators and Fire Pumps<\/a><\/blockquote>