Living Car Free - Earth Hour

Did anyone else observe Earth Hour by turning out their lights?

I did and then took a walk. I tackled the hilly streets because it was cold out and I wanted to stay warm.

I forgot about it. It seems dumb, its like having bike-to-work hour.

People here were making fun of it (wouldn't want to look liberal!). Humorously, Mother Nature wound up forcing Earth Hour upon us by sending a bad storm that knocked out a lot of power. :lol:

People here were making fun of it (wouldn't want to look liberal!). Humorously, Mother Nature wound up forcing Earth Hour upon us by sending a bad storm that knocked out a lot of power. :lol:


See, it's not nice to fool Mother Nature. ;)

Did anyone else observe Earth Hour by turning out their lights?

I did and then took a walk. I tackled the hilly streets because it was cold out and I wanted to stay warm.

Candles and guitar for me.
I need to do it more often.
Very nice. :)

I did it once years ago. It didn't seem worth the effort. There were no people to watch me do it or experience it with me. Therefore there was nobody to see me lead by example. It was pointless.

In my daily life I recycle, bring cloth grocery bags when shopping, and ride my bicycles. Hundreds of people see me whenever I ride a bicycle along the busy highway and streets of town. That does real good as an example and saves tons of CO2 and other pollutants from going into the atmosphere.

One hour without using electricity would only be good for me if I were using solar power. That would save some power for future use. Commercial power plants can't slow down their generating capacity the way a car driver can just let up on the gas pedal to go slower. They remained at their same level of production and all those people turning off their lights only saved a few pennies while the unused energy was wasted.

I do agree with the symbolic aspect of the hour without power but the implementation of it is wasteful.

I did it once years ago. It didn't seem worth the effort. There were no people to watch me do it or experience it with me. Therefore there was nobody to see me lead by example. It was pointless.

I thought about that on my walk. The amount of power saved by turning my low-watt neon bulbs off was negligible. I saw dark houses on my walk but there was no way to tell if it was due to Earth Hour or not. So no ego stroking to be gained by doing it. Not much power was saved or wasted.

But for an hour, Little Rock made a little dimmer glow for overhead satellites, the stars were a bit easier to see. It caused me to think about my power use. It pushed me to be more aware of my surroundings. For that, it was a celebration, not just an observation.

I wished that masses of people would do it, that would be cool. Then it would make a difference in the actual power used, and more of a difference in the night time sky. At the same time, across the world, millions of people did. So though I felt alone, I was really part of a rather substantial group chosing to observe this together, each in their turn.

For me, it was enough to do it for myself. Someone noticed. I did.

Why not turn off your power all but for 1 hour each day?

I thought about that on my walk. The amount of power saved by turning my low-watt neon bulbs off was negligible. I saw dark houses on my walk but there was no way to tell if it was due to Earth Hour or not. So no ego stroking to be gained by doing it. Not much power was saved or wasted.

But for an hour, Little Rock made a little dimmer glow for overhead satellites, the stars were a bit easier to see. It caused me to think about my power use. It pushed me to be more aware of my surroundings. For that, it was a celebration, not just an observation.

I wished that masses of people would do it, that would be cool. Then it would make a difference in the actual power used, and more of a difference in the night time sky.

For me, it was enough to do it for myself. Someone noticed. I did.
I would think the biggest effect would be the personal experience of doing without the stimulation of artificial light... depending on what you did for that hour. Whenever the lights go out, our family gets kind of wistful, like we were re-living an ancient past. One night we lost the power and my wife read us all a rather lengthy short story using the power of a single candle. It was interesting.

Another night we lost the power for 12 hours. It was amazing how much light could be reflected by the moon on the snow. It was almost enough light to move safely around the house. It was also amazing how relaxed and resigned we all got.

This makes me think I need a camping trip soon...

I would think the biggest effect would be the personal experience of doing without the stimulation of artificial light... depending on what you did for that hour. Whenever the lights go out, our family gets kind of wistful, like we were re-living an ancient past. One night we lost the power and my wife read us all a rather lengthy short story using the power of a single candle. It was interesting.

Another night we lost the power for 12 hours. It was amazing how much light could be reflected by the moon on the snow. It was almost enough light to move safely around the house. It was also amazing how relaxed and resigned we all got.

This makes me think I need a camping trip soon...


Go camping for 1-3 months a year. :D I highly recommend extended bicycle tours. You get used to being up during daylight, going to bed when it gets dark, and generally making do without much power.

I don't see the point of Earth Hour.

It's a symbolic gesture, sure, but how much of a difference will it make? If I turn off the lights for an hour after dark, I'll need to use candles or battery power to provide light. Candles will take more energy to create and rechargeable batteries will take energy to charge.

More importantly, I went through my house a few years ago to find ways to cut power and heating costs. I've replaced conventional light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs in most rooms. I've installed a programmable thermostat and I normally run the lights only in rooms I'm using. In a few weeks, I'll shut off my heat until some time in October when the temperature drops again.

One hour won't make any real difference. Small changes which affect my day-to-day lifestyle will start to do a little more.

I slept thru it, no lights were on then.

Totally ignored it. I already have a much smaller environmental footprint than most people. Earth Hour is just a ridiculous, useless exercise encouraged by our governments and media because it distracts the populace from the real threats to the environment which they would rather not do anything about.

The typical Earth Hour observer turned lights out for an hour when taking time out from composting garbage that is already biodegradable, but doesn't mind buying consumer products made in countries that have few environmental standards, and drives an SUV to a big box store in the suburbs in order to do it.

The typical Earth Hour observer turned lights out for an hour when taking time out from composting garbage that is already biodegradable, but doesn't mind buying consumer products made in countries that have few environmental standards, and drives an SUV to a big box store in the suburbs in order to do it.

Sources please?

It's a symbolic gesture, sure, but how much of a difference will it make? If I turn off the lights for an hour after dark, I'll need to use candles or battery power to provide light. Candles will take more energy to create and rechargeable batteries will take energy to charge.

Kerosene -- which is the fuel of choice for lighting outside the developed countries -- is even more of an energy hog and a much greater contributor to climate change than its equivalent CF light bulb.

However, I thought the motivation behind earth hour was more symbolic than scientific... there's a lot of potential in getting people to focus on issues like excessive power consumption and light pollution in cities. If you can even get people talking about why it's such a good or bad idea.... that's a good thing.

Totally ignored it. I already have a much smaller environmental footprint than most people. Earth Hour is just a ridiculous, useless exercise encouraged by our governments and media because it distracts the populace from the real threats to the environment which they would rather not do anything about.

The typical Earth Hour observer turned lights out for an hour when taking time out from composting garbage that is already biodegradable, but doesn't mind buying consumer products made in countries that have few environmental standards, and drives an SUV to a big box store in the suburbs in order to do it.

Me = good
you = dum

What a great invention the internet is :thumb:

Totally ignored it. I already have a much smaller environmental footprint than most people. Earth Hour is just a ridiculous, useless exercise encouraged by our governments and media because it distracts the populace from the real threats to the environment which they would rather not do anything about.

The typical Earth Hour observer turned lights out for an hour when taking time out from composting garbage that is already biodegradable, but doesn't mind buying consumer products made in countries that have few environmental standards, and drives an SUV to a big box store in the suburbs in order to do it.

Right on!

Nobody likes being told what to do.. How long did it take us to get to this point only to be asked to pull a Ludite move and reject the technology that has vastly improved so many lives.. I'm not saying there aren't problems, and I think we still lack the wisdom to use the technology we possess wisely, but we're getting better and I think the future looks good. Bring on 'Cold Fusion' <--ya know it really works :)

Cheers!

Nobody likes being told what to do.. How long did it take us to get to this point only to be asked to pull a Ludite move and reject the technology ...

Yes ... some of us just go and reject that technology of our own accord without being told what to do. :)

As I mentioned before, I highly recommend taking 1-3 month cycling tours every year ... longer if you can afford the time. Sleep when it is dark, cycle when it is light ... for the most part. Don't use campfires. Limit your motorized transportational use to mass transportation ... etc.

Its like the sham we call "democracy"--just go out and do your duty--cast your vote, or turn out the lights, so you can carry on guilt free with business as usual afterwards.

I don't see the point of Earth Hour.

It's a symbolic gesture, sure, but how much of a difference will it make? If I turn off the lights for an hour after dark, I'll need to use candles or battery power to provide light. Candles will take more energy to create and rechargeable batteries will take energy to charge.

More importantly, I went through my house a few years ago to find ways to cut power and heating costs. I've replaced conventional light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs in most rooms. I've installed a programmable thermostat and I normally run the lights only in rooms I'm using. In a few weeks, I'll shut off my heat until some time in October when the temperature drops again.

One hour won't make any real difference. Small changes which affect my day-to-day lifestyle will start to do a little more.

I guess the point isn't to make you think about turning the lights out. The point is to make you think each time when you turn the lights on.