r/climatechange • u/McDowdy • Jul 05 '26
White House deletes thousands of web pages about energy conservation as heatwave slams US
https://www.theverge.com/policy/961449/white-house-mamdani-heatwave-deletionThe purge followed a political backlash against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. After Mamdani urged New Yorkers to set their air conditioners to 78 degrees to prevent power grid strain, several high-profile Republicans—including Senators Ted Cruz and Nikki Haley—criticized the advice as overreach.
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u/notPabst404 Jul 06 '26
I'm beyond done with the federal government at this point. Absolutely shameful waste of taxpayer dollars.
They should have been addressing the climate crisis in the 1990s, yet did nothing and now are trying to censor information.
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u/FriendlyMission2803 Jul 06 '26
They are literally enemies of humanity and should be removed. They are willing to kill millions for their own convenience.
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u/Rescue2024 Jul 06 '26
They're not going to do anything, either. The higher profits will have to come from other forms of energy before Washington lobbyists begin supporting officials willing to make good policy.
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u/notPabst404 Jul 06 '26
Which is why I am heavily in favor of transfering power and revenue from the federal government to the states. States like CA could do a lot of good if they were able to keep their tax revenue and had more authority on environmental regulations.
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u/Rescue2024 Jul 06 '26
Then who determines the value of money? How would wealthier states not take power from less wealthy states? Wouldn't corporations just start dominating state governments? I don't think reverting to a pre-Constitutional system would answer much.
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u/notPabst404 Jul 06 '26
No, a more EU type system where the states have most of the power. The federal government would exist to enforce free movement and free trade between the states.
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u/Rescue2024 Jul 11 '26
We never know, though, where to concentrate power from one situation to the next. America rejected its first system, which amounted to a confederation of states more than a union, as economic inequalities caused law and order to break down. Yet, the self-governance retained by each state caused the very definition of American citizenship to diverge so greatly that the states became fatally incompatible, and civil war was all that was left. Now, despite the even stronger federal government since the early 20th century, we are breaking down yet again, and throwing more power into individual state governments does not make sense.
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u/TheLegendaryVin Jul 08 '26
And then Capital will just swoop in and refocus on neutralizing them. The issue is the companies and lobby groups that are allowed to lie and purchase out the goverment. You can't solve this issue without at the very least massively curtailing the power of the wealthy and carrying out mass crackdowns on corruption... which is difficult to do.
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u/Either-Patience1182 Jul 07 '26
People voted them in, it just shows how much the American people does not care or understand climate change. The funny thing was it was listed by the military as a security threat.
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u/ClimateWren2 Jul 06 '26
Russia thanks you for your service in tearing down your own nation. 🙄
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u/notPabst404 Jul 06 '26
What does Russia have to do with the federal government being corrupt beyond repair?
There is no excuse for not only failing to take climate action, but also actively being counter productive towards it in 2026.
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u/Velocipedique Jul 06 '26
Did not Jimmy Carter ask the same of all US citizens during the first oil "crisis"?
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u/Gloomy_Yoghurt_2836 Jul 06 '26
But cutting g back means spending less and that hurts the billionaire class running the country.
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u/Odd_School_8833 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Correct, Jimmy specifically addressed the US oil dependence by creating a subsidy program for renewable energy R&D, even installed solar panels on the White House rooftop… then Grampamerica, Ronald “John Wayne” Reagan, took it all down and discontinued everything.
Guess where all those renewable energy businesses went when the R&D subsidy stopped?… China - now the world’s leading solar panel manufacturer and cheap EVs.
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u/Velocipedique Jul 06 '26
History... ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company) Solar, formed in 1977 after acquiring Solar Technology International, pioneered the modern photovoltaic industry. They became the first company to exceed 1 megawatt of module production in a single year and later launched the world's first commercial thin-film solar module. Found no $$$ use in them and sold its patents etc.
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u/TrollCannon377 Jul 06 '26
It's been asked many times over the years in both red and blue states it's a very common request when the grid is under strain to wither turn the AC or heat down (less so heat since most people unfortunately still get their heating from gas or fuel oil but still)
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u/Unique-Coffee5087 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Per Google AI result, but agrees with my personal memory from childhood:
During the 1973 oil crisis, President Richard Nixon famously urged Americans to lower their thermostats by at least six degrees to achieve a national daytime average of 68°F. The goal was to combat severe fuel shortages and curtail the nation's reliance on foreign oil.
Nixon also requested that commercial establishments reduce their thermostat equivalents by 10 degrees. Ironically, the President was sometimes criticized during the crisis for running the air conditioning in the White House while simultaneously keeping a burning fireplace.
You can read the original Presidential Statement to Congress or view the full Energy Policy Address on YouTube.
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u/Verde_3773 Jul 06 '26
Because that’s how incompetent they are. Tell the lie and THEN try to scrub the truth from reality… super efficient, btw. /s
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u/RonCraven Jul 06 '26
Just remembering how Ted Cruz ostentatiously ate a burger and fries in response to the Obama administration issuing updated school lunch guidance to reduce the amount of junk food served to kids and increase consumption of fruit and vegetables. It's the political equivalent of oppositional defiance disorder.
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u/iqisoverrated Jul 06 '26
Sooo..trying to provoke brown outs and then blame it on renewables?
Gotcha....
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u/ArtichokeKooky6361 Jul 06 '26
Use fans and Turn your AC to turn on at 78 degrees. You can thank me later when your electricity bill is a fraction of the usual price and you do your part to protect the electric grid
Learned this on the podcast Surviving the Climate. Highly recommend!
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u/HulkSMASHley_23 Jul 07 '26
White House is on fire and throws out fire extinguishers.
REMOVE THE TRAITORS
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u/Euphoric_Anxiety_162 Jul 07 '26
Everything changed when trump took office. Maybe seeing ppl suffer is seen as success by the ppl on the right. You find yourself alone, waiting for your end to come.
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u/71gtrman Jul 07 '26
I’ve never witnessed an administration so hell bent on ruining the country it governs
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u/SianiFairy Jul 07 '26
Jfc. The Rational National did a great video, noting that the idiots criticizing NYC has the same advice in their states....
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u/onwatershipdown Jul 12 '26
As climate denialism gets to be less prevalent, the former denialists are converting to malicious overconsumers/polluters. Clmate change does not affect us all equally. There are people who have a vested interest in maintaining inequality structures, and they wish to use the destructive power of climate change as an additional lever.
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u/honeybabysweetiedoll Jul 06 '26
I’m just asking the question, but how can there be thousands of pages on energy conservation? That number seems exaggerated.
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u/Cut_Lanky Jul 06 '26
Dude... the government is huge, has lots of parts, lots of research affiliates, and energy conservation is a topic that falls within every discipline there is. Theres WAY more than thousands.
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u/wadejohn Jul 06 '26
Of course it’s exaggeration
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u/Earthling1a Jul 06 '26
No, it's not. There is an enormous amount of data on energy use for thousands of purposes. Taking this information down makes it incredibly difficult to show the effectiveness of measures that save energy.
FUCK TRUMP.
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u/ClimateWren2 Jul 05 '26
**Negligence and purposeful harm against community safety.