“Is Trump right about the more-working-class-view that water efficient plumbing fixtures and appliances are unnecessary and costly?”

“If a household were to conserve 25 percent of its indoor water it would amount to 7/100ths (0.07) of one-acre-foot of total system water in a year; a mere drop in the bucket.”

At a December 6, 2019 White House meeting with the Small Business Roundtable, Donald Trump made the following remarks about “opening up” national standards for water efficient bathroom fixtures and appliances:

We’re using common sense.  We have a situation where we’re looking very strongly at sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms where you turn the faucet on — in areas where there’s tremendous amounts of water, where the water rushes out to sea because you could never handle it — and you don’t get any water. 

“To ensure we maintain this dominant position long into the future … my administration is announcing today that export authorizations for American liquefied natural gas can now be extended through the year 2050.”

“Today, I’m taking another bold action to support energy jobs in Texas. In a few moments, I will sign four critical permits, granting approval to vital pipeline and railway infrastructure on our nation’s border.”

Last week, President Trump got back on the energy trail (see previous energy-related talks here, here, here, here, and here) with a speech at Double Eagle Energy in Midland, Texas. Some highlights of his talk follow:

“Thanks to the hardworking citizens like you, the United States of America is now the number one energy superpower anywhere in the world. …

“The recent declines in transit ridership are a continuation of trends that began before 1920: the most important of these are the increasing levels of auto ownership and the migration of jobs and people to the suburbs.”

“A century ago, transit was a vital part of American urban economies. At least outside of New York City, that is no longer true. It’s time to stop wasting $54 billion a year pretending that it is.”

Randal O’Toole is the proverbial gentleman and scholar. His decades of work on transportation issues has held up well–very well. And so it was with great interest that I read his latest Policy Analysis for the Cato Institute, “Transit: The Urban Parasite” (April 2020).

Some highlights follow:

Falling Demand

“Data released by the Federal Transit Administration in December 2019 indicate that 2018 transit ridership fell in 40 of the nation’s top 50 urban areas, and, over the past five years, ridership has fallen in 44 of those 50 urban areas.”…

[Editor Note: On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. On November 4, 2019, the U.S. formally notified the United Nations of its impending withdrawal, which will take effect in one year unless reversed.

Trump’s speech made a devastating case the Paris accord was futile in light of sovereign self-interest, discriminatory toward America, and inconsequential to global climate. Calling out the bad motives of the economic and industrial “obstructionists,” Trump’s speech was and always will be a free-market highlight.

“Thus, as of today, the United States will cease all implementation of the non-binding Paris Accord and the draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement imposes on our country. This includes ending the implementation of the nationally determined contribution and, very importantly, the Green Climate Fund which is costing the United States a vast fortune.”