Scott Pruitt, newly-appointed head of the Environmental Protection Agency, made a career out of suing the EPA. When not working to ban abortion and same-sex marriage, Pruitt, as Attorney General of Oklahoma, filed thirteen lawsuits against the EPA. It’s only fitting that our current president put the climate-change denier in charge.
With so many headlines, the proposed change to the Energy Star program has not received much attention. “Proposed change” meaning elimination.
You are probably familiar with the Energy Guide label that tells what it will cost to run your new refrigerator. The program costs about $50 million per year. The EPA estimates that it has saved Americans $362 billion in energy costs since its inception in 1992. The Energy Star program also rates hotels, condominiums and office buildings on energy efficiency, information of interest to prospective buyers and lessees. In 2014 alone, building owners saved $7.6 billion on energy costs.
The Energy Star ratings are on a scale, from bad to good, of 1 to 100. In case you are curious about how Trump-branded properties rate, CNN has put together a handy chart.
610 Park Avenue (formerly the Mayfair Hotel) | 1 |
Trump Park Avenue | 7 |
Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago | 9 |
Trump International Hotel & Tower New York | 12 |
Trump Place, 160 Riverside | 14 |
Trump SoHo New York | 16 |
Trump Palace | 19 |
Trump Place, 140 Riverside | 22 |
Trump World Tower | 31 |
Trump Parc | 42 |
Trump Tower | 48 |
Trump Parc East | 52 |
555 California Street (formerly Bank of America Tower) | 69 |
1290 Avenue of the Americas | 70 |
40 Wall Street | 90 |