Free Republic

The Biden administration finalized regulations for residential clothes washers and dryers on Thursday. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it is locking in the “energy efficiency” regulations for residential clothes washers and dryers, marking the latest development in the Biden administration’s wide effort to shape markets to decidedly favor more energy efficient appliances in the coming years. The agency stated that the rules will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and save consumers money on their water and electricity bills over the course of many years. “For decades, DOE’s appliance standards actions for clothes washers and dryers have provided loads of...

<p>On the windowsill above the gas fire sits a surprisingly heavy square box. Its back is dirty, thick plastic; its battered and much-dented front is metallic, with rows of tiny ridges and microscopic holes creating a nubby texture if you run your hand across it. A leather strap is buckled into the top for ease of carry, in front of a retractable metal antenna. When the antenna is fully outstretched above the squat rectangle, it looks comical. In the top third of the box’s face, a vertical orange needle moves across the rows of numbers denoting frequency scales. You move the needle with a metal knob. There are four knobs in total, and a switch, and a few helpful legends: am/fm, volume, and, in neat, raised letters, general electric.</p>

The Supreme Court heard a case this week in which, by following the Constitution, it can help states save money, electricity generation, and lives while lower courts consider a legal challenge to strict new regulations that President Joe Biden is trying to impose. In agency after agency, Biden’s appointees wildly exceed their legal authority, which is why radical new regulations have been struck down so often by courts in areas from education to energy to immigration to health, among others. This time the power grabbers come from the Environmental Protection Agency. Regulatory law is complicated, and several states are challenging...

Today, Joe Biden is cracking down on manufacturing, but I bet he doesn’t have the scientific data to give credibility to the new policies, but he doesn’t care. He is bending over for the green pushers. Here’s this, from Fox News:Biden’s latest climate rules crack down on manufacturing, ignoring industry warnings of economic devastationBiden admin’s actions will ‘grind permits to a halt for a large portion of our country’The Biden administration finalized regulations severely tightening restrictions on fine particulate matter that the manufacturing and energy sectors are legally allowed to emit, an action that industry said would have devastating economic...

The "woke" government of Portland, Oregon now requires homeowners to obtain city permits to remove trees that have fallen on their houses. Recently, a large tree felled by an ice storm crashed into Joel and Sarah Bonds' home. Fear of this very outcome led the couple to request permission to remove the tree in 2021. They were turned down because the city's Urban Forestry Division (UFD) ruled that cutting down this tree "would have a negative impact on the neighborhood's character." Spokesman for the UFD Douglas Furr acknowledged that "the recent damage to the Bond's home is unfortunate, but we...

Florida lawmakers advanced a bill on Wednesday that would prohibit social media platforms from allowing young teens to have an account while requiring everyone else to verify their age. The measure prohibits anyone under 16 from creating a new social media account and requires platforms to delete existing accounts held by minors who are younger than 16. It also would require social media companies to delete any personal information from the accounts and for the platforms to use a “nongovernmental, independent, third-party not affiliated with the social media platform” to verify users’ age. The bill passed the Florida house with...

You have won the battle, minions of the deep state, faceless-for-now but not for long bureaucrat-authoritarians, but you haven’t won the war. And here is a warning, too, as is only fair: So far I have been constrained in my response to your pushing and prodding and overlord-nagging by the requirement not to compromise my efforts on the legal side. But that’s all over with, now, isn’t it? So there are no holds barred, as far as I am concerned. And it may be that you have nothing better to do with your nasty narrowly-circumscribed micromanaging bodies and souls than...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is pushing to reduce the overdraft fees Americans are charged at banks and credit unions when they don’t have enough money in their accounts to cover spending, which could save customers $3.5 billion a year, the latest in a string of crackdowns on fees by the Biden Administration. Key Facts Under a new proposed rule, large financial institutions could either charge a flat fee for overdraft payments that aligns with the service’s cost, or provide the same disclosures and protections for overdraft services that are required for credit cards and other loans. If banks choose...

The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in two related cases challenging a 40-year-old precedent that requires courts to defer to the judgment of federal agencies in administrative law cases. At the end of three-and-a-half hours of arguments, a majority seemed disposed to overturn Chevron vs. Natural Resources Defense Council, and consign the so-called "Chevron deference" principle to the compost heap of terrible Supreme Court precedents.Ever since the creation of the administrative state during the administration of our first socialist president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, federal agencies have assumed the authority to interpret federal statutes pretty much as they please. This became...

Last week, a federal appeals court overturned a Biden administration rule governing dishwashers. This week, the Supreme Court will hear a case involving the regulation of commercial fishing.Both are seemingly minor regulatory scuffles that normally would attract little public attention.But they could mark the beginning of the end of the bloated, unaccountable, extra-constitutional “administrative state” – which today imposes $2 trillion in costs on businesses and consumers and every day eats away at our freedom.The dishwasher story began during the previous administration when President Donald Trump pushed regulators to allow consumers to buy dishwashers that, well, wash dishes.As we noted...

The global climate is always changing, but contrary to the popular narrative, the science on the exact causes is far from settled. Alarmists claim that humans burning fossil fuels for energy will catastrophically ruin the climate, and they demand a “net-zero” future to save the world. What would happen if the climate alarmists actually succeeded in the United States? Although it is impossible to predict the future, early warning signs from President Joe Biden’s policies don’t paint a pretty picture. Decreased Individual Mobility First, if the federal government bans gas-powered cars, individual transportation would get less reliable and more expensive....

In a recent development, a federal appeals court has struck down the Biden administration’s attempt to impose strict climate regulations on dishwashers. The Department of Energy (DOE) aimed to repeal a Trump-era regulation that set standards for water use in dishwashers and clothes washing machines. However, the court ruled against the administration, citing concerns over the effectiveness of the proposed measures. The court’s decision stated that even if the DOE could consider both energy and water use in the definition of efficiency, the 2020 rules put forth by the Trump administration likely promoted greater efficiency in both categories than the...

If there was no other reason -- and there are plenty -- not to vote for Joe Biden, the fact that his administration has opened the door to more and more governmental control would be a great one. Climate change is a big excuse to make all kinds of societal transformative change and control our actions--not to mention, destroying or building up industries with those controls and restrictions. Coal and oil are bad, electrical vehicles (except those from that evil Elon Musk) are good. Government shouldn't be in the business of picking winners and losers, yet that's what they doing...

Sales targets meant to ensure automakers ramp up EV production to keep up with demand, says source... Automakers are set to get a jolt Tuesday when Ottawa unveils its promised electric vehicle regulations. CBC News has learned that Ottawa will release final regulations it says will ensure that all new passenger cars sold in Canada by 2035 are zero-emission vehicles, a senior government source said. The source — who was not authorized to speak publicly — said the new regulations are meant to ensure that automakers produce enough affordable zero-emissions vehicles to meet the demand. The regulations will be called...

the state of California has also become widely known for its severe housing crunch, with affordability being the leading issue that has driven many natives and longtime residents to inland communities and lower-cost states. According to The Wall Street Journal, California's complex regulations have played a major role in delaying the construction of a 49-unit apartment complex known as Lorena Plaza in the Boyle Heights neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles. In 2007, A Community of Friends, a local nonprofit organization, was given land to build a small affordable housing development, but construction on the project only began roughly a...

On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, the United States House of Representatives passed the CARS Act, which would defend American auto manufacturers, workers, and consumers from an unconstitutionally over-regulatory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the many other related federal efforts to effectively ban normal petroleum-powered vehicles. Passing the House isn’t enough, of course. Like any other bill, it must pass the U.S. Senate and be signed into law – or override a veto – in order to go into effect. But it’s still worthwhile because bills like this one force politicians to go on the record, providing a legitimate campaign...

(EXCERPTED) Lawmakers in Sacramento pass plenty of complex, arcane measures every year that can be hard to wrap your head around. But they also pass laws that can have a pretty direct impact on everyday Californians’ lives, including some coming online in 2024 that could affect your commute, your annual camping trip or your paycheck. Here are 16 new laws that will kick in next year, beginning with the ones that go into effect on Jan. 1. Kicking in on Jan. 1 Campsite reservations Gender-neutral toy sections Speed cameras Expanded paid sick and reproductive loss leave Employment protections for cannabis...

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece was originally published on October 9, 2022, but is being republished after California Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed that the state's high gas prices are caused by "gouging" from oil companies during a debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Newsom signed even more regulations into law in 2022 and 2023. One law requires oil companies to inform customers about "how much money they're making off Californians on their websites; oil companies are now hitting back by posting QR codes at the pump where customers can learn how much they're paying in taxes and fees.)While gas prices in...

This spring, rumors were swirling that HERBL, one of California’s largest cannabis distribution companies, was on the verge of collapse. So Mike Beaudry, the company’s CEO, sent out an email on May 18 declaring that “these rumors are categorically not true. HERBL continues to be fully operational.” Less than a month later, HERBL had completely collapsed. HERBL’s failure left a trail of damage that hurt small pot brands and shorted the state some $17 million in unpaid taxes. HERBL is only the latest high-flying California pot startup to crumble, following companies like Flow Kana, which raised $175 million in capital...

Pennsylvania’s Peter Brothers Trucking delivers goods all across America. Owner Brian Wanner says Pennsylvania bureaucrats now are driving him out of his home state. “We have no say,” complains Wanner in my new video. “We can’t do anything about it.” “No say” because Pennsylvania’s new rules don’t come from Pennsylvania. They come from California. “I don’t want to be anything like California!” complains Wanner. Too bad for him and other Pennsylvania truck owners, because Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board decided their state will automatically copy California regulations. California’s rules will raise the price of a new truck by about one-third. Trucks...