While many have already commented on the futility of this exercise, all I'll add is that I was one of many who observed little if any change in energy consumption. Before anyone tries to correct me, I am fully aware that the purpose of the event is not necessarily to solve the problems. I have heard (ad nauseam) the continued defense of this activity as a means to show solidarity and increase awareness of the plight humanity finds itself in. I still call "Bull sh#t!".
A quick overview of the comments at CTV about half an hour ago revealed the continued assertion that the air we breath is a very poison to the planet. So called 'Earth Hour-keteers' need to quit referring to carbon dioxide as a pollutant, period. Have people really (in)conveniently forgotten/overlooked that people exhale a lung full of carbon dioxide every few seconds? That some of you are still arguing that a natural biological process is part of problem is absurd and does nothing to lend credibility to your cause. It's not too unlike me saying that you can't drink water because I'm concerned about the overall supply. Get yourself some credibility and start using real evidence to convince me that the problem is real. Don't bother with the Gore's and Suzuki's of the world, either. Limit your citation to actual climate scientists and not Sham-Wow type salespeople.
I started showing two documentaries in my social classes to paint a significantly less one-sided argument about so-called climate change: 'An Inconvenient Truth' and 'The Great Global Warming Swindle.' Discussions with my students, and without prompting from me I might add, reveal that more of my students are less inclined to buy the greener alternative. When asked why, most of my students say that they simply don't trust the message of fear pandered by environmentalists.
I note one example from my childhood. When I was in the third grade, my teachers told our classes that the 'hole' in the Ozone was so bad that by the year 2000 we'd only be able to go outside by wearing spacesuits and fur coats. Yet another in a long line of scare tactics designed to frighten us into action. Climate Change is no different. We are presented with the alternative of living in a peaceful and healthy planet but ONLY if we act in the next 100 months, or next few hours depending on who you talk to.
Can we be more responsible? Sure. Is it absolutely necessary to avert disaster? I don't believe so, no. You have to do more than scare me in order to get me on board. You want people like me joining your cause, not laughing at it.
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Last year my youngest was in grade 6, he told me they had watched the Gore garbage. I asked him to inform his teacher that I expected him to show the "Global Warming Swindle". The teacher knew about it, but never showed it, as it had not been released to schools, like the free DVD's of the Gore fest.
That same kid today, when asked by me if he wanted to participate in the earth hour, said NO. Smart kid I'm raising!
Good job showing both sides of the issue. That's what education should be like.
Earth Hour is nothing more than a way for people who are too lazy to actually change their lives for the good of the planet to make themselves feel better. That way, once you've shut all your lights off for an hour (but you keep your computer on so you can twitter every thought and feeling for that hour), they can promptly go back to living a wasteful, ecologically unsustainable lifestyle.
I have very little patience for one-day (or one-hour) events that seem to be aimed to make up for the lack of action throughout the year. Notably, that includes Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. I don't celebrate the former, though I'll confess to reluctantly celebrating the latter for reasons that shouldn't require explaination. Buy Nothing Day is another good example of this. I try to make it a point to buy something every Buy Nothing Day, out of spite. I also purposely avoid wearing green on St Patty's Day.
Am I just a prick? :(
I think you illustrate the whole problem with these special occasions quite nicely. So, no you aren't a prick.
My absolute favorite holiday is Christmas, and I'm not just talking about the 25th but the general time of year. One thing that impressed me about Christmas for most of my growing years was how most people seemed to be just a bit nicer, a little less selfish, etc. Like you've said, though, once the season is over it's back to normal.
I get a kick out of those people who continue to assert that this is merely designed to increase our understanding about the need for action. How anyone can remain ignorant of the alleged crisis of climate change given the constant media bombardment we've experienced over the past few years remains a mystery. And what solidarity does it really show? I am willing to join with my fellow brainwashed victims in turning off my lights for an hour. Well done... applaud yourself. Or buy yourself one of those ridiculous light bulbs as a reward.
I didn't mark Earth Hour but I did have all my lights turned off from 11:30 to 6:30. Does that make me care more?
Silly question: when WAS Earth Hour anyways? I obviously missed it. In some ways, I'm glad I was completely oblivious to the event. I saw numerous newspaper and online articles prior to it; now I'm seeing various post-Earth Hour articles. Was it yesterday?
Also, I'm fairly certain that I AM, in fact, a prick. Perhaps not for the reason we previously discussed, but no doubt for some other reason.
Yesterday evening from 8:30 to 9:30, I think. I think I saw somewhere that organizers are claiming that over 1 billion people turned off their lights last night. Maybe I'm a bit pessimistic but I highly doubt that number.
I'm sure they're including the hundreds of millions of people (or more) who don't have electricity in the first place.
It's Michael Moore math. (Not that I entirely object to Michael Moore. His films are somewhat entertaining and bring important issues to the public attention, though I recognize that the "evidence" he uses often lacks a certain factualness that is commonly used in real documentaries.) It's the same sort of thing with Earth Hour and the number you cited. It makes you feel all warm and glowy - because you, (s)he who participated in the event, made the world a better place. No longer do we have to worry about passing the buck to our children and future generations.
If you didn't know any better, you'd probably think I was a conservative...
According to Epcor, power usage in Edmonton dropped 5.2% during Earth Hour, compared to 1.5% last year. If those numbers are accurate (and I have no reason to believe they are not), that is a rather impressive drop. It's a shame that it was only for an hour.
Here's what I do instead of participating in Earth Hour: if I am not in a room, I keep the lights off. Always. I use those low-energy bulbs in almost every room so that when I do have the lights on, they take less power. I tend to think that this results in a much larger impact on the environment than turning everything off for an hour. Unfortunately, my approach doesn't cause a drop in power use that Epcor could measure. Therefore, my contribution is much less impressive.
Luckily, I don't mind what I do not being noticed.
The enviromentalists don't want logic, actual science (at least if it doesn't support their theories)or rational discussion. Their industry is best fed by growing hysteria and fear.There is a lot of money to be made in enviromentalism right now, and a lot of jobs involved as well. If people actually thought for themselfves, where would they all be? Pesonally, the whole things reminds me somewhat of the Spanish Inquisition, albeit without the bloodshed."We are right and enlightened, all those who oppose us are the epitome of evil. You don't believe in our noble cause?!Heretic! You must be silenced!"
I think it's important to draw a line between the practical kind of environmentalist, which no sensible person isn't, and the extremist "hippy" environmentalist, who wants to abandon any and all economic progress to protect trees and ducks.
Nobody wants their back yard to be an oil slick. Most people love to walk through parks full of trees and have close access to nature. The question is simply how much are we willing to sacrifice for the environment. I think there has to be a balance between the Syncrude "fuck the ducks" philosophy and those who call for the banning of "dirty oil" at the expense of Alberta's economy.
I also think that the green industries that are sprouting up are a potential source of economic growth that shouldn't be ignored. One of the only smart things I've heard Jack Layton say in the past couple years was that these industries could lead growth in the coming decades. He's right.
I'm an environmentalist. I believe science supports my point of view. I also believe that we have to strike a balance if we're to have a prosperous future, as a country/province/world.
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