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rabble's Earth (H)ours: what will you do for tomorrow

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M. Spector
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Joined: Feb 19 2005
John Doyle:
quote:Earth Hour is feel-good flim-flammery. In particular, it's ideal fodder for local TV news coverage, of which there has been a lot in Toronna and perhaps in your city, too. Local TV news adores this kind of nonsense. The idea of Earth Hour is, on the surface, a no-brainer. People turn off lights. Cool. Then they turn on the TV later to see the cool footage of the city before and after the lights went out. The exact help this provides for the planet in never seriously discussed. Nobody ever points out that, while the lights are out, tens of thousands of people are motoring around in big-honkin' SUVs, causing all manner of crap to be distributed into the air. Nobody on your local TV news is going to say a word about that because the TV stations needs the commercials for those big-honkin' SUVs in order to make a buck.
I got this article through the Toronto Public Library web interface, which allows anyone with a valid card to read the Globe (no infernal subscription wall).

M. Spector
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Joined: Feb 19 2005
quote:Originally posted by unionist:
How the hell do you find all this stuff?
.dneirf ruoy si elgooG

Unionist
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Joined: Dec 11 2005
[img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]

Brilliant! Thank you.

.sdrawkcab ffuts gniyas ta doog ytterp saw syawla I yllanosreP


M. Spector
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Joined: Feb 19 2005
Earth Hour: A new-age, tooth-fairy delusion
by Mendelson Joe

quote:It's time to park the noisy, stinking, polluting toys, boys. Failing voluntary restraint, we the people who would prefer to leave a breathable legacy must become engaged in the democratic process. That means: Write your MP via Canada Post (postage-free to MPs) and demand legislation to regulate the proliferation of unnecessary so-called recreational vehicle use. Emails to MPs are dismissed with the push of a button. Write often; write daily. The squeaky wheel eventually gets results. Most Canadians have remained unengaged with their democracy too long. Apathy is not a resource to celebrate.

If ever there was a time to take to the streets to voice concern for the health of Planet Earth, the Big, Big Mummy, it's now. Today. Every hour.

I don't think Earth Hour will make a difference whatsoever in the scheme of things. It's delusional. It will not make people more aware of the problem. It's a feeble recognition of our decline, and it won't amount to a row of beans unless we plant beans every day.


Boom Boom
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Joined: Dec 29 2004
I've always liked Mendelson Joe, especially when he was Joe Mendelson in the band McKenna Mendelson Mainline (they played Ottawa's Le Hibou a few times).

ElizaQ
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Joined: May 27 2005
I finally read this thread. I must be living in some vacumn, I didn't realize there was so much hype going on about this.
Will are house be particpating? Well I may turn off the tv and computer for that hour and perhaps the one heater that's on right now. Beyond that everything else is pretty much off anyways. Anything that is a latent power sucker is already on a power bar and switched off. At night depending on what we are doing it's common that we only have one light on anyways, depending of course on what we're doing. Sometimes two if I'm in the kitchen, working on a art project and hubby's reading or watching tv in the living area.
I guess I don't personally feel particularly motivated by this because it's really not much different then any other our of any other night in our house. I do understand the symbolism though and perhaps if it does motivate some people to discover that hey, "we can live quite fine without every light on in the house all of the time" and at look at personal power consumption overall then it has some worth.
As far as corporations jumping on the band wagon...nyuh..whatever *rolleyes* for many reasons already expressed and an additional "Big whoopy deal, thanks oh benovolent ones...we are all saved by such gracious action. "
I guess I'm not feeling to pa

Boom Boom
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Joined: Dec 29 2004
Earth Hour '08: Will It Matter?

Because climate change is essentially a political problem, and the language of politics is symbolism. Just because an act is symbolic doesn't mean it empty. The only way to truly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to take the
pressure off global warming, is an international regime that puts a cap and a price on climate pollution. And the only way that will happen is if
politicians around the world become convinced that climate change is an issue that matters to people, one that will make them change the way they live, buy — and vote. "Unlike most of the issues that we grapple with, climate change is global," says Roberts. "The pressure is on us to do the right thing." If shutting off the lights for an hour on Saturday night and doing yoga in the dark makes that political support, well, visible, then Earth Hour will have been worth it.


Digiteyes
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Joined: Feb 24 2005
Yes, it is a symbol.
I will be participating.
Since corporations are made of individuals, we can only hope that they will see the magnitude of responses and realize that they need to get onside corporately, as well as at home.

Am I doing anything other than turning my lights out for an hour?
I replaced 20 incandescent light bulbs in my house with compact fluorescent lamps today.

I have a setback thermostat: at night it drops to 16. I will drop it to that during earth hour.

My computer, modem, and printer will be unplugged, as will my television. My toothbrush has been unplugged already, in preparation, as has the clock radio in the guest bedroom.

It is a symbol.
But it doesn't have to be an empty symbol.


ElizaQ
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Joined: May 27 2005
Hee, I haven't said anything to my husband about it all and he just turned and said, "Oh yeah. We have to turn everything off at 8 because there is this 'thing' going on. Have you heard about it? I can't remember what it's called."
I asked where he heard about it and he couldn't remember exactly.
He also said, while once a year is alright, maybe making it a once a month thing or even a weekly thing would be even better.

Boom Boom
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Joined: Dec 29 2004
Aside from the 'feelgood' quotient, exactly what is accomplished by turning lights off for an hour?

Frustrated Mess
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Joined: Feb 23 2005
What's wrong with feeling good?

Webgear
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Joined: May 30 2005
Here is a strange concept; lets have Earth Hour everyday for many hours a day.

Frustrated Mess
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Joined: Feb 23 2005
Hear! Hear!

Unionist
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Joined: Dec 11 2005
Finished! Whew!

But we didn't turn off the aquarium, the refrigerator, ... I guess that's about it.

I feel that the end of the world has now been delayed by .000000000000000000001 nanoseconds.


Boom Boom
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Joined: Dec 29 2004
[img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]

rural - Francesca
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Joined: Dec 31 2007
Well I sat in candle light, and tuned into CTV news net, to watch the anchor squirm as Toronto really didn't look too much different!

The CN Tower didn't have it's light show going, but of course all the safety lights were going so as she explains how "dark" the tower is, bright aviation lights are flashing.

Not too much participation on my street. I was going to go to the Earth Hour event at our Farmer's Market, just to get out of the house (no kids this weekend) but I'm coming down with a cold and driving there seemed to defeat the purpose.

As for was this a good idea and accomplished anything...it never hurts to engage and discuss the issues, but it's like the Live Aid concerts, one day to feel good but essentially ineffective symbolism.


Cueball
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Joined: Dec 23 2003
Did I miss something?

Frustrated Mess
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Joined: Feb 23 2005
God. He spoke to me. He said, "I gave you a life. What are you doing with it?" I told him I was busy.

Cueball
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Joined: Dec 23 2003
[img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]

Cueball
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Joined: Dec 23 2003
So this was the start of breaking people in for serious "voluntary" rationing, I guess?

Digiteyes
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Joined: Feb 24 2005
I went for a walk along Queen Street east in Toronto, and saw five restaurants that had either severely reduced their dining room lighting or eliminated electrical lighting all together, and were using candles.

We have become so used to being over-illuminated (and over-heated). Maybe we can learn something from this and reduce the amount of electricity we use -- not just at home, but at work? I very seldom turn on any lights in my office. Only in the winter time if I've got a meeting with someone else in my space.


remind
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Joined: Jun 25 2004
yep, as far as I am concerned anyway.

Cueball
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Joined: Dec 23 2003
quote:Originally posted by remind:
yep, as far as I am concerned anyway.


Well I guess that is good. We will see who is chosen to "volunteer" in the near future, I guess.


remind
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Joined: Jun 25 2004
Albertans, they are already used to brown outs. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]

And they could never do it in BC, there would be open revolts. Just as there will be if they try to again sell off BC Hydro.


Bubbles
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Joined: Feb 21 2003
It is rather discouraging to see that, according to the news, Toronto only managed a 5 percent power reduction during Earth Hour as to the previous hour. That does not give much hope in curbing climate change.

jas
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Joined: Jun 6 2005
I like the idea of a mass unplugging for a period of time, for the peace and quiet and reminder of what life was like before electricity, but apart from that, I agree with others that it is a meaningless and rather shallow, not to mention futile gesture at altering your ecological "footprint". In fact, Earth Hour seems designed for all the people who use that term.

Boom Boom
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Joined: Dec 29 2004
quote:Originally posted by Bubbles:
It is rather discouraging to see that, according to the news, Toronto only managed a 5 percent power reduction during Earth Hour as to the previous hour. That does not give much hope in curbing climate change.

I don't believe cutting hydro usage was the point - I think the point was to create awareness of the issue. I doubt anyone organising "Earth Hour" really expected hydro usage to be dramatically lowered in the space of one friggin' hour.


Bubbles
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Joined: Feb 21 2003
But if only 5 percent of people are willing to forgo one hour of electricity then what does that say about our chanches of reducing electricity consumption by 30 to 50 percent over the next 4-5 years so that we can shut down those coal and upcoming nuclear plants.

Boom Boom
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Joined: Dec 29 2004
It's winter, dude. Try again in the summer. Power to the people! [img]smile.gif" border="0[/img]

Bubbles
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Joined: Feb 21 2003
But it plays right in the hands of those that want to build nuclear power plants, develope more of the tar sands, coal plants that sequester CO2 in oil fields so that more oil can be extracted.

It certainly did not make me feel good.


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