Roth: Deliberately lessening America's energy is self-destruction, period.

Air conditioning is one of the most American things I can think of, other than perhaps ice cubes, which accomplish a related function. While people throughout Europe and other developed and emerging countries sweat and suffer through sweltering hot — and sometimes mildly hot — days and drink warm water and carbonated beverages, Americans have the freedom to choose not to do so.

Which is why it is all the more outrageous that some Americans are being asked to ration their air conditioning and other energy use — the energy that keeps Americans cool, productive, and happy, while also serving an important function in preventing illness and death from excessive heat.

The progressive central planning obsession with energy is fraught with fantasy outweighing reality. Now Americans are being asked, and in some cases forced, to sacrifice their individual health and well-being for this fantasy.

Across the country, natural gas and coal power sources have been shut down, lessening the supply of energy, which becomes very apparent during times of heavy energy demand, such as very hot days. Wind and solar power are both intermittent (that is, not generating power when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining), and we have not scaled batteries or other storage in a way that makes these viable substitutes. And that doesn’t even account for their inherent downsides, either.

In California, the California Independent System Operator, which is the manager of the state’s electric power grid, has issued a voluntary call for energy conservation during the hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. — you know, the hours when people are home from work and school and want to relax and enjoy time with the family. Suggestions to conserve energy include not running the air conditioning and major appliances.

This is because the state does not have enough energy production. Nor does the country. And there isn’t enough energy production because of an irresponsible movement away from traditional energy sources without a viable alternative to meet demand. Period.

It’s not as though California has had to enact forced blackouts in prior years to deal with demand and couldn’t have seen this coming (sarcasm intended).

But it’s not just California. Even in Texas, calls for rationing are happening. This summer, Tesla asked customers not to charge their electric vehicles during peak energy demand hours (between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) amids concerns over an energy emergency.

Well, that seems to bode well for the coordinated push for more electric vehicles (again, sarcasm intended). It’s almost as though a whole lot of people want to deny how most electricity in the U.S. is powered.

Across the pond, Europeans are faring worse and are likely facing a winter filled with heavy rationing of energy — or worse. In Germany, it was reported by Insider that landlords have already begun rationing hot water. This may become another instance where lives are at stake, especially if heat gets rationed.

This is self-destruction, plain and simple, and we should not be following suit.

The United States fought and won a few wars so that we don't have to listen to the whims and directives of those residing across the pond. Whether it is other European countries’ bad economic ideas or the rantings of Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum, we should be rejecting their lunacy and remembering why America has been the most powerful and broadly admired country in the world. Yet, over time, we have been turning into Europe. More socialism, more progressive nonsense, and a bigger government and ruling class with more central planning have been to our detriment.

While we listen to and ally with the European lunacy, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are continuing to follow their own path, becoming more powerful and potentially allying, to our future detriment. Our own foolhardy decisions are handing them more and more opportunities.

It’s time to return to American principles, American ingenuity, and American energy. The people who want to embrace the socialist trappings of Europe have plenty of choices across the pond in which to do so. Leave America alone and let America prosper.