White House removes thousands of energy‑saving pages amid historic heat wave

The U.S. Department of Energy has taken down roughly 6,000 web pages that dealt with energy‑saving tips, data sets, and policy guidance as the country battles an unprecedented heat wave. The removal came just days after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged residents to set their air‑conditioners to 78 °F (about 25.5 °C) to ease stress on the power grid.

Mamdani’s request was aimed at curbing the surge in electricity demand that typically accompanies extreme temperatures. The appeal, however, drew sharp criticism from several Republican lawmakers, most notably Senator Ted Cruz, who framed the mayor’s suggestion as an overreach of government authority.

In the wake of those remarks, the Energy Department announced that the deleted content was part of an “outdated information cleanup” and promised that the material would be made available through a new, modernized portal. Independent watchdogs and transparency advocates, however, argue that the timing of the purge suggests a politically motivated attempt to silence resources that could help the public reduce consumption.

Energy experts and climate activists have seized on the incident, warning that as heat waves become more frequent and intense, reliable guidance on reducing power use becomes a matter of public safety. They stress that the government’s role should include providing clear, accessible information rather than limiting it.

The episode also raises questions about record‑keeping and accountability. Critics point out that deleting thousands of pages without a clear archival strategy hampers researchers, policymakers, and citizens who rely on historical data to track progress on energy efficiency.

As the nation endures soaring temperatures, the debate over the Energy Department’s decision underscores a broader tension: balancing rapid political reactions with the need for transparent, long‑term climate solutions. The public now watches closely to see whether the promised new platform will restore the missing guidance—or whether the deletion will leave a lasting gap in the nation’s energy‑conservation toolkit.

Source: The Verge

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