It follows Republican outrage over Mamdani offering the same heatwave advice as everyone else.
The US Department of Energy reportedly deleted about 6,000 pages related to energy conservation as a historic heatwave tears across the country.
The deletion was suspiciously timed, following Republican outrage over Mayor Zohran Mamdani asking New Yorkers to help reduce strain on the grid by setting their AC to 78 degrees. Republicans like Ted Cruz (who has famously fled severe weather in his home state), Nikki Haley, and Representative Nancy Mace (South Carolina) quickly pounced, framing the request as socialism and an act of war on women in menopause (the Republican Party is notoriously friendly to women’s health).
Of course, this is pretty standard advice during a heatwave. It was the official stance of the Department of Energy that Americans should set their thermostats between 75 and 78 degrees, and Republican governors in deep red states like Texas have issued the same advice in the past — including current governor Greg Abbott.
I made the switch from ICE to EV a couple months ago, and it wasn’t really even about climate change. It’s just cheaper and more convenient in terms of fueling, and there’s far less maintenance to keep on top of. It just no longer makes sense to choose ICE (usually) if you already need a new vehicle, can charge at home, and don’t drive more than like 200 miles per day. I just did a road trip in it last month and it really only made the journey maybe 5-10% longer than if I used an ICE vehicle since we needed to stop for food and bathrooms anyway.
Recycling plastic is almost completely a lie. Very few recycling plants can recycle your water bottle, and it’s incredibly wasteful and costly even if they can. The better choice is to not buy plastic water bottles in the first place, and if you do then reuse them several times, but also you’re just a drop in the bucket compared to industries’ waterfalls, so don’t beat yourself up about it when you’re not perfect.