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Welcome back to Current Climate. The USA’s 250th birthday is an opportunity to reflect on the influence of the nation’s founders, among whom statesman, publisher, inventor and jovial polymath Benjamin Franklin ranks high. Among many famous admonitions in his Poor Richard’s Almanac, the focus on avoiding waste still resonates. He didn’t say “Waste not, want not,” but did coin: “A penny saved is a penny earned,” as well as “The art of getting riches consists very much in thrift.”

As countless entrepreneurs, farmers or Warren Buffett-style investors have learned in the centuries since Franklin’s passing, the efficient use of money, energy and other resources is a cornerstone of success: The less you waste, the more you have. It’s conservatism in the truest sense.

The Trump administration is described as politically conservative, but its policies, particularly when it comes to energy, are anything but. Its elimination of tough fuel-economy rules for cars and trucks ensures American drivers will pay more for fuel. Killing much-needed offshore wind projects or solar farms on federal land that promise cheap, clean electricity only ensures utility bills will keep rising.

So it’s not surprising that Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced a review aimed at ending federal rules requiring manufacturers to produce evermore efficient home appliances, such as refrigerators, washers, stoves and air conditioners. He justified the move as a cost-saver for consumers, adding wimpy clothes dryers to the low-flow toilets and showerheads that Trump despises.

“For too long, the American people paid the price for mandates that restricted consumer........

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