The idea of people having to strictly limit themselves to conserve water has always puzzled me. I understand the concern in areas like Tucson or even the Denver region, where I lived for a long time. However, growing up in Iowa, we had no water shortages, and here in Alaska, if there’s one thing we have in abundance, it’s water.
The previous Biden administration, fortunately now out of office, had a different view. In their efforts to tackle climate change, they imposed a series of regulations on items like gas stoves, shower heads, toilets, and dishwashers, among others. These measures were not only inconvenient but also seemed futile. Using one of those low-flow shower heads is frustrating and ends up taking three times longer to shower. As for stoves, anyone trying to replace my wife’s LP gas stove with an electric one better be ready for a showdown.
Times are changing, however. The Trump administration has repealed all those regulations. Our gas stoves and high-flow shower heads are now secure.
Gone are rules banning a wide swath of gas stoves. Gone are the strict water standards governing dishwashers and shower heads. And gone is the government-wide effort to force electrification of the economy through appliance regulations. It is all part of a historic action the Trump administration announced Monday, reversing dozens of energy regulations, saving consumers more than $11 billion, and cutting more than 125,000 words from the United States Code of Regulations.
As part of the Department of Energy’s sweeping action unveiled Monday, it will rescind dozens of energy efficiency regulations targeting common household appliances that the Biden administration issued as part of its climate agenda. That includes rules restricting sales of certain types of gas-powered stoves and ovens in addition to microwaves, clothes washers, dishwashers, faucets, shower heads, and dehumidifiers.
That’s as it should be. Things like electric stoves, low-flow shower heads, and toilets, and so on, are still available on the market for those who want them. That’s fine, those people can buy what they like, and much good may it do them. As for me, well, we have a well drilled 80 feet into the water-saturated Alaska bedrock; we won’t run out of water in a million years, and I like not having to spend 20 minutes in the shower.
Markets, not governments, should make these determinations.
