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Dirty Dishes Coming Your Way

by E. Calvin Beisner

July 21, 2015

First they came after your toilets.

Then they came after your light bulbs.

Now they’re after your dishwasher.

Federal regulators never rest, do they?

It’s not enough that they mandated that toilets use so little water per flush that it often takes two, three, or more flushes to get rid of—well, you know.

It’s not enough that they mandated compact fluorescent light bulbs that give so little light that it’s difficult, especially for older folks (like me!), to read by it.

Now the U.S. Department of Energy has proposed a new rule (Go ahead and read it. It’s only 41,000 words/46 pages long.) that would limit your dishwasher to 3.1 gallons of water per load.

No, no, don’t jump to conclusions here. You’d think the Department of Energy had no business regulating water use. But it figures reducing the amount of water used results in lower energy consumption, too. (Of course, you might find it difficult to find regulation of either energy or water consumption among the enumerated powers of the federal government according to the Constitution, but who cares about that dusty old document anymore?)

So what’s wrong with the proposed regulation? Why not save some water?

Two major dishwasher manufacturers—GE Appliances & Lighting and Whirlpool—modified some of their dishwashers to comply with the regulations, and then tested them.

As reported in The Hill:

“They found some stuff that was pretty disgusting,” [Rob] McAver [of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers] said.

McAver brought DOE officials to his office recently to show them the results and released photos of it publicly this week.

He’s hoping that the disgusted reactions to the tests will spur DOE to go back to the drawing board for the standards and work more closely with the industry this time.

“The poor performance that would result would totally undercut and go backwards in terms of energy and water use, because of the need for running the dishwasher again, or pre-rinsing or hand-washing, which uses a lot of water,” he said.

McAver suspects the DOE is pushing the rules to try and meet President Obama’s greenhouse gas emissions goals under the Climate Action Plan, his second-term climate change initiative.

And while appliance makers are willing to work with the administration, they don’t want that to come at the expense of effective products.

If this new regulation goes into effect, we’ll all be doing more pre-rinsing and double washing, using more water, not less—just as we do when we have to double flush or, worse, plunge and flush repeatedly.

There comes a time when regulations bump up against the law of diminishing returns. Perhaps that time has come with regard to regulating how much energy and water dishwashers use.

It’s certainly come regarding regulations to reduce greenhouse gases (part of the justification for this new proposed rule). For instance, full compliance with the Obama Administration’s “Clean Power Plan” would cost hundreds of billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs but would, even according to the Environmental Protection Agency, reduce global average temperature by an undetectable two hundredths of a degree at the end of this century.

Isn’t it time to put a stop to such madness?

You can help us educate the public about these and other bureaucratic excesses by donating today to the Cornwall Alliance. All gifts are tax deductible.

 

 

Featured image courtesy of Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM).

Dated: July 21, 2015

Tagged With: Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Department of Energy, dishwashers, energy conservation, Rob McAver, water conservation
Filed Under: Bridging Humanity and the Environment, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Regulation

About E. Calvin Beisner

Dr. Beisner is Founder and National Spokesman of The Cornwall Alliance; former Associate Professor of Historical Theology & Social Ethics, at Knox Theological Seminary, and of Interdisciplinary Studies, at Covenant College; and author of “Where Garden Meets Wilderness: Evangelical Entry into the Environmental Debate” and “Prospects for Growth: A Biblical View of Population, Resources, and the Future.”

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Future Speaking Engagements

May 23, 2025 – Grand Rapids, MI

GR.Church, 4525 Stauffer Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, MI 49508

Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, Cornwall Alliance President, and Steve Goreham, Cornwall Alliance Board Member, will hold a symposium on Sustainable Energy, Climate Change, and the costs to YOUR life.  For tickets and more information, click HERE.

June 18-21, 2025–Dallas, TX

Cornwall Alliance will be a host of the Association of Classical Christian Schools’ (ACCS) annual Repairing the Ruins conference in Dallas, TX, and will have an exhibit booth.

Details and registration can be found HERE.

September 19-20–Arlington, VA

Dr Beisner will represent the Cornwall Alliance at the fall meeting of the Philadelphia Society and will have a literature table.

Attendance is for Society members and invited guests only. To inquire about an invitation, email Dr. Cal Beisner: Calvin@cornwallalliance.org.

September 26-27– Lynchburg, VA

Dr. Beisner will be speaking at the Christian Education Initiative Annual Summit, “Advancing Christ’s Kingdom Through Biblical Worldview Education.” 

Details and registration can be found HERE.

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