An Energy Policy Dictated by Vanity

We recently built a house, and one of the primary considerations was low energy consumption. Thus, all the light fixtures use LEDs or LED bulbs.

How much energy do LED bulbs save? An incandescent 60-watt light bulb uses, obviously, 60 watts. An LED bulb that produces the same amount of light (800 lumens) uses 9 watts. LEDS use only 15% as much power as incandescents.  You can get 8 LED bulbs at Home Depot for less than 10 bucks. That's a buck and a quarter per bulb.

LED bulbs will typically last more than a dozen years. They will save almost as much electricity in a single year as they cost ($1.08) with typical usage. It's a total no-brainer.

LED bulbs now come in a wide variety of "temperatures." They're no long just harsh bright white light, they come in warmer and cooler colors. You can get a bulb that casts a yellowish "warm" light (2700K), or a cool white (3100K) or a bluish daylight (5000K).

Not only do they use less power and are cheaper than incandescents, they are also safer: LED bulbs usually have a plastic shell that won't shatter into a thousand tiny shards of glass like old incandescent or compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs.

LED bulbs are also less sensitive to vibration. An incandescent bulb has a thin tungsten filament that's prone to breaking if the bulb vibrates.

Why are we talking light bulbs? Because the Trump administration recently nixed regulations that promoted energy-efficient lighting. They claimed that the new bulbs would cost more, which is totally false. The reality is that they're cheaper to buy outright and they're far cheaper to use.

Obviously, the stated rationale is false. So what's the real reason? Donald Trump has a personal grudge against LED bulbs. He thinks they make him look orange. Seriously.

Trump always looks orange because he uses bronzers (spray tanning products):

The president’s skin tone, said makeup artist Jason Kelly, is more likely the result of artificial tanning and an overapplication of bronzer, a type of powder or cream designed to give a tanned look.

Kelly, 45, was the official makeup artist for the Republican National Convention held in Cleveland in 2016. When then-candidate Trump came into the makeup room, he already had his hair and makeup done, Kelly said, and was sporting a thick layer of bronzer. Kelly applied a layer of loose powder on Trump, but according to the makeup artist, Trump “came in, and he said he thinks he already looks pretty good.”

According to the New York Times, aides close to the president have reported similar experiences: Trump tends to prefer to do his makeup in private.

Kelly said it is generally recognized among makeup artists that Trump’s application of bronzer is atypical. “When I see him, I see a line of oxidized bronzer around his hairline,” Kelly said. “The application is like a kindergartner did it.

LED bulbs have nothing to do with Trump looking like an orangutan.

Why is this country's energy policy being set by a vain old man who's afraid to let professional makeup artists get too close to his ridiculous toupee?