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Trump Admin Plans To Shut Down the Energy Star Program 197

According to the Washington Post (paywalled), the Trump administration plans to eliminate the Energy Star program -- a long-standing EPA initiative that has saved Americans over $500 billion in energy costs since 1992. "The organization states that the average American saves about $450 per year on energy bills by choosing appliances that have been Energy Star-certified," adds Engadget. From the report: The EPA hasn't said when this would go into effect and when consumers would stop seeing Energy Star certifications on home appliances. It's technically illegal for a presidential administration to end this program without Congress, but the same goes for many of Trump's pronouncements and executive orders. "Eliminating the Energy Star program would directly contradict this administration's promise to reduce household energy costs," Paula Glover, president of the nonprofit coalition Alliance to Save Energy, told CNN. "For just $32 million a year, Energy Star helps American families save over $40 billion in annual energy costs. That's a return of $350 for every federal dollar invested."

Trump Admin Plans To Shut Down the Energy Star Program

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  • by upuv ( 1201447 ) on Tuesday May 06, 2025 @08:17PM (#65357641) Journal

    You have to start wondering if Trump even knows what the purpose of government is for?

    Trump's administration promises reduced energy costs yet tries to kill a program that directly reduces energy costs. You have to wonder what behind closed doors was discussed that prompted this line of action. Who got in his ear and what agenda was behind it.

    OR

    Was it that he just didn't like the stickers on appliances?

    • by TheGratefulNet ( 143330 ) on Tuesday May 06, 2025 @08:21PM (#65357663)

      1) break government
      2) privatize what's left
      3) profit

      that's really it. they have zero care (the R party) for regular non-billionaire people. regular people need government. ultra rich are the ones who pay government to make laws that favor them.

      I guess its not clear to everyone so it will be stated again: the R party is the robber baron party and they are not here to HELP anyone but themselves.

    • by jacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) on Tuesday May 06, 2025 @08:28PM (#65357685)

      Ever since the Newt Gingrich era and the launch of Fox, the rise of Limbaugh the political project of the Republican Party has been to dismantle the government. Some of it's for money, some for power and for most it's just a dislike of liberals. I don't think they are even sure why anymore, just action for actions sake.

      They've been oppositional and so so mad for so long that they have no actual beliefs left. It's not freedom, it's not the Constitution, it's not a good economy, it's not free markets, it's not free speech, it's not being fiscal, it's not even socially conservative. What do they believe? I can't believe what they say because they keep supporting the opposites of all those!

      • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Tuesday May 06, 2025 @08:34PM (#65357707)
        That's what newt Gingrich called it. It was a plan to obstruct anything that was positive for the American people so that the American people would blame government for their problems. A form of economic terrorism. You can pretty easily find the Republicans talking about this, or you used to be able to honestly they've taken so much control of the media I'm not so sure that's true anymore. The little googling of the phrase contract with America and newt Gingrich and you'll find it.

        The Republican party has been sabotaging America for going on 40 years at least and then taking advantage of the chaos and confusion. It was a core part of project 2025. They call it shock and awe now.
        • by jacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) on Tuesday May 06, 2025 @09:05PM (#65357779)

          If there's a possible silver lining to this whole shitshow it's that the GOP as we've known it since Reagan could implode. They've put all their chips on Trump and if this does fail they have nobody left. His son's can't do it, JD can't do it. Musk can't do it even if they weasled him into eligibility. Nobody in the cabinet can do it. I was worried Ramaswamy would be the guy to carry it on but no worries there, he got the cut in classic fashion.

          Nobodies got the juice, without Trump they are juiceless.

          They gave up all their supposed principles for this guy and now they're getting everything they said they wanted. If that doesn't work there's nothing left for them besides a civil war from the worst aspects they've accrued.

          • by MTEK ( 2826397 )

            If there's a possible silver lining to this whole shitshow it's that the GOP as we've known it since Reagan could implode.

            Don't hold your breath. They mutate and evolve; their gullibility and hate will outlive all of us. Trump's first term was thought to be aberration in American politics, following by Biden being a revert to mean. But here we are. I think we're in a new era of malignant stupidity.

          • by flink ( 18449 )

            They've put all their chips on Trump and if this does fail they have nobody left.

            It doesn't matter. The global economic system that's existed since Bretton Woods and the subsequent Nixon/Volker shock is dead. The tariff plan killed it, even if it never fully takes effect. Just the threat and partial implementation did enough damage. I have no idea what comes next, but America is gonna find out what it feels like to not have the entire world propping up our currency. Right now the oligarchs are busy stri

      • by Z00L00K ( 682162 ) on Tuesday May 06, 2025 @10:34PM (#65357901) Homepage Journal

        They only believe in their own wallets and by making the government powerless they can get away with activities that on paper is illegal.

        Basically just make the US a banana republic.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by rsilvergun ( 571051 )
      The purpose of government is to enrich Trump and Elon musk and Peter thiel. There is no other purpose of government.

      All other purposes went straight out the window when we elected a child rapist who steals classified documents to be president a second time.

      He didn't even lie to us this time. He told us he was going to do a nasty trade war it's just 77 million Americans were too lazy and stupid to figure out what that meant and 7 million Americans were just flat out denied the right to vote for Kama
      • by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2025 @02:09AM (#65358155) Homepage

        He didn't even lie to us this time. He told us he was going to do a nasty trade war it's just 77 million Americans were too lazy and stupid to figure out what that meant and 7 million Americans were just flat out denied the right to vote for Kamala Harris.

        When your boat sinks because there's a big fucking hole in the hull, it does absolutely no good to blame the sinking on the asshole college kid who thought it would be hilarious to pour his beer into your boat as it began going under.

        Trump won because the majority of the electorate (out of those who made the effort to cast a vote) didn't feel any of Trump's previous transgressions disqualified him from holding office again. That's the real issue here. You keep talking about a woulda-coulda-shoulda scenario based on razor thin margins, and I'm here saying that in a sane society, a race against Trump shouldn't even be close in the first place, and when it is, that's the real problem.

    • by high_rolla ( 1068540 ) on Tuesday May 06, 2025 @09:43PM (#65357819) Homepage

      I believe that this falls into the same category as eliminating paper straws and disencouraging EV's.
      His wealthy oil donors need a market for the oil that they want to "drill baby drill".
      I think the general gist is to create an environment that needs more fossil fuels to create a market for his mates.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      That's a great question, but it's not the one that Republicans are asking. The contemporary GOP is no longer a political party, with a cogent philosophy of government and policies crafted to implement that philosophy.

      It's a death cult.

      And if you think that's overstating things, then I invite you to consider this question: what, exactly, would they be doing differently if they weren't? Every action they're taking -- destroying the environment, shutting down medical research, bringing back coal, etc.,
      • that her economic team's plan for dealing with the deficit was to levy ginormous taxes on businesses that would be passed on to consumers only they would gaslight us that the taxes would come out of business profits.

        Sure shootin', I voted for Harris and we have ginormous taxes on businesses (the tariffs) that will be passed on to consumers, only we are assured they will come out of business profits.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Bert64 ( 520050 )

      On the other hand, why is a certification body (likely with a lot of overhead) actually needed?
      Consumers these days are far more conscious of energy use, and information spreads much more quickly. Reviews will test the energy consumptions of products, and products which are inefficient will lose sales as a result.
      Detailed reviews are a lot more useful than some logo sticker on the packaging.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      If the end of Energy Star means that appliances will have lifetimes equivalent to appliances built before that program, then I'm all for it. An appliance that saves 3% on energy costs but fails unrepairably as soon as the warranty expires and has to be replaced doesn't save anything at all.

    • You have to start wondering if Trump even knows what the purpose of government is for?

      Trump's administration promises reduced energy costs yet tries to kill a program that directly reduces energy costs. You have to wonder what behind closed doors was discussed that prompted this line of action. Who got in his ear and what agenda was behind it.

      OR

      Was it that he just didn't like the stickers on appliances?

      Trump believes the purpose of government is to funnel all available resources in the entire country into the hands and pockets of the uber rich, while decimating the rest of the population into poverty. Maybe he wouldn't be able to articulate it that way, but sometimes you have to analyze a person's actions to understand their actual mindset, and Musk's slip of, "The American people need to suffer," was the call-sign that we are entering a period where the American government under Donald Trump is completel

    • by haruchai ( 17472 )

      "reduced energy costs" only means cheaper gas prices he can point to like it's a solar eclipse

  • Just think of all the money they'll save not having to print all those Energy Star stickers. Winning!

  • This is the same with car companies and more fuel efficient cars. President Turd tried to get car companies to abandon fuel efficiency efforts. But it turns out that consumers still want it regardless of want some orange turd says. So companies will continue making more efficient utilities.

    • This is the same with car companies and more fuel efficient cars. President Turd tried to get car companies to abandon fuel efficiency efforts. But it turns out that consumers still want it regardless of want some orange turd says. So companies will continue making more efficient utilities.

      Well, at least they'll continue marketing their devices as energy-efficient. They will probably quickly discover, however, that it's a lot cheaper and easier to put outstanding energy efficiency figures on the box and in the marketing materials than it is to actually make the devices efficient. Truth in advertising laws mean they probably can't just flat out lie about efficiency (well, assuming Trump doesn't shut down the FTC department tasked with enforcing truth in advertising laws -- or hasn't already d

  • Switch to Elon's method on X where people just pay for the Energy Star rating they want.

  • > "Eliminating the Energy Star program would
    > directly contradict this administration's promise to
    > reduce household energy costs"

    How do you tell when a MAGAt is lying? You know because its mouth is moving. Or at anyone with even a porous bullshit filter does. I can quantify what MAGA's bullshit has cost me just by opening up Quicken. I know Quicken can be something oi a beast. But do none of those people monitor their 401ks and IRAs? I'm starting to think half the country isn't even competent t

  • More and more goods are getting energy ratings. Because it is an effective way to motivate manufacturers to make efficient products that appeal to more prospective customers.

  • I'm surprised this is still a thing.

    I fondly recall the cool "Energy Star" logo displayed by my 486 and later motherboards when booting. Nice and yellow on my CRT. Later I read that it was a useless program because it was just a self certified thing, like the CE mark is here in the UK.

  • While it's use on computers was a bit silly, Energy Star is great on major appliances. Up to yesterday, you could just look at an appliance and know how efficient it is. In the end, Trump's presidency is about raping America, dismantling the United States, leaving no tomorrow for the children, ridding us of our allies, and inviting Putin to take Europe and ultimately America itself.
  • Wasn't this entirely predictable?

    He has long said that he'd run the government like a business. Because that what Trump thinks the government is.

    He has no notion of the government being "of the people, for the people" or anything like that.

    To him, it's a business. And businesses need to generate profit. And (to him): the main share holders are himself and the people around him. It is (quite literally) what allows him to think of himself as a King.

    (like many of Trump's businesses, it may go bankrupt - but n

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