Earth Hour: Turn Off Your Lights 7.30pm, 31 March 2007 (1 Viewer)

[The_highwayman]

i haven't read the entire thread, but has anybody thought about the greenhouse gases being emitted by all those candles?

 

[Optophobia]

Wait but the power stations are still running... right...

You know this right... the same amount of fossil fuels will be burned... you all know this?

Apparently it's the principle of it.

What they hope to obtain i have no idea. You have to teach people to be energy conscious, but as lots of people point out.. Australians could be totally sloppy with energy consumption and it's still nothing compared to most other countries.

 

[Josie]

Awesome.

 

[Nebuchanezzar]

Hey this guy has a totally awesome point.

contra

...oh wait

 

[bshoc]

The scary thing is, I don't think you're joking. Useless as this 'earth hour' may be, it's hardly worth being a douchebag about.

Sort of, my life and electricity use will just proceed as normal on that day, I've got better things to do than to sit around in the dark for an hour pretending that by some miracle power plants are putting out less fumes out of a fixed fume output system.

 

[Nebuchanezzar]

Yeah, but if everyone did it every night, then power generation could decrease. This is a symbolic first step, and very little can result without that first step. Unless governments legislate in favour of decreasing elecrtrcity consumption...

...that doesn't seem likely.

 

[withoutaface]

and how about we all donate that day's worth of salary to oxfam, to bring health, education and environmental sustainability to the earth's poorest as well? just a thought. gimmicks like this r nice, but idk if they really do anything in the long run.

Or how about we realise that oxfam sucks balls and fair trade is a load of shit?

 

[Scanorama]

i haven't read the entire thread, but has anybody thought about the greenhouse gases being emitted by all those candles?

That's exactly what I thought when I saw it on the news. What's the point if you are going to light candles?

 

[Nebuchanezzar]

Well, I don't think I could run a light bulb off the energy emitted by a candle...but I could be wrong...

 

[scarybunny]

It was so weird. I got home at 725pm fully expecting nothing to be happening, but Dad used the opportunity to break out ye olde kerosene lamps to see if they still work.

We had 2 TVs and a laptop going in that hour. I'm sure we'd have saved more energy by turning the lights on and playing cards, and turning the TVs off, but hey it was fun burning things nonetheless.

If anything, maybe Earth Hour will have gotten people to see that they don't need to put all their lights on all the time. Candles and old school lamps are fun.

 

[Serius]

but the power plants are still running during that hour... and then everyone is burning kerosene and candles and what not... so its actually creating more greenhouse gas than if it was just a regular hour.

 

[YankeeChica]

It is pointless since you cannot conserve electricity generated by coal or hydro power plant and you cannot switch off those plant just for one hour. Heaps of electricity generated have gone to waste thanks to idiotic publicity stunt like this.

 

[Josie]

Looking at the pictures of sydney, it was just as bright and light-polluted as usual.

 

[Loza33]

I think it has less to do with how much 'good' it actually did, but to demonstrate people's support! I think the fact that people are willing to turn off their lights for an hour and entertain themselves elseways is important to recognize.. we know there is a problem... and it is by beginning to work together that the problem can by helped... people joining together and turning off their lights is just the beginning!!

I live in a boarding house and we made all the girls turn off htei lights, tvs, computers etc! it was fun!!

Obviously it will still be light otherwise people would die; eg. traffic lights and street lamps!

But it is a start!!

 

[_dhj_]

The whole thing is like charity. It makes us feel better about ourselves but in clearing our conscience reduces our actual willingness to find a solution.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

It's actually far more similar to religion.

before and after pic

 

[Cyan_phoeniX]

The whole thing is like charity. It makes us feel better about ourselves but in clearing our conscience reduces our actual willingness to find a solution.

nice example.

 

[Black Faery]

The whole thing is like charity. It makes us feel better about ourselves but in clearing our conscience reduces our actual willingness to find a solution.

Carbon emissions trading. Nuclear power. Less government intervention. Problem solved.

 

[Josie]

None of the above are helped by the "symbol" of turning off your lights and wasting power in other ways for an hour..

My friend's story is a perfect example. Her Mum says "right, turn all the lights off for Earth Hour, we're getting in the car and driving to the beach". Hence, making the entire symbolism pointless.

 

[scarybunny]

It's actually far more similar to religion.

before and after pic

Wow that's actually quite a big difference. More than I would have expected.

And we just liked sitting in the dark/candlelight/lamplight for an hour. Figured it wouldn't make much difference, it was more for the novelty of it.