Earth Hour

littleowl

geordie_joe wrote: »

How long does it take you to organise turning a light out?

I can't help but wonder with the nature of your posts why you are so against an initiative to save energy? Your stance does appear a little extreme

geordie_joe

littleowl wrote: »

I can't help but wonder with the nature of your posts why you are so against an initiative to save energy? Your stance does appear a little extreme

It was a genuine question. All it was was turning a light out for one hour and someone couldn't join in because they didn't have time to organise it.

To be honest I was expecting a reply about having a toddler running round and didn't think it would be safe, so had to organise the toddler staying with a relative. Or something similar.

I wasn't against it, just the way people were building it up. For example some believed that last years effort was the equivalent of taking 47,000 for a year. When it was only 47,000 cars off the road for an hour.

Also the figure of 2 million people taking part in Sydney last year was based on a poll of less that 1,000 after the event. I would seriously question the validity of that poll judging by the way they presented the figures.

I also dispute people saying it helped a lot, it didn't. The energy saved was very small and would have made little difference, if any.

They claim they reduced the electricity consumption in Sydney by 10% for that hour, which is not a lot. It's only 0.42% of a days electricity, and only 0.001% of a years.

I doubt it drew anyone's attention to the problem either. Anyone who hasn't already heard of global warming/CO2 emissions wasn't going to hear about earth hour.

Primrose

geordie joe - I didn't express myself very clearly so there's no need to be insulting. Actually I write a regular newletter for a community organisation and if I had known about this event earlier I could have publicised it in good time. I could have also e-mailed everybody on my e-mail address book too, to encourage other people to join in.
It's rather disappointing when people like yourself have such a negative or cynical reaction every time individuals or organisations actually try to do something positive for their fellow beings, or the well being of the planet. Of course these are very small steps. But there are millions of us on this earth and if every individual takes a few of these small steps, the result can end up making a spectacular difference. Like an increasing number of people I believe that this planet is only on loan to us while we're here so we have a duty not to leave it in a worse state than when we arrived here.

geordie_joe

Primrose wrote: »

geordie joe - I didn't express myself very clearly so there's no need to be insulting. Actually I write a regular newletter for a community organisation and if I had known about this event earlier I could have publicised it in good time. I could have also e-mailed everybody on my e-mail address book too, to encourage other people to join in.

I wasn't being insulting, as I said earlier it was a genuine question and I was expecting a genuine answer.

You said

"I was like to have participated but learned about it too late to get myself organised"

Now you are saying you didn't take part because you didn't have time to issue a news letter and email all your friends. I bet you had time to just turn the light of and take part yourself.

It sounds to me like you are saying, because I didn't have time to tell everyone I was going to take part, I didn't bother.

Primrose wrote: »

It's rather disappointing when people like yourself have such a negative or cynical reaction every time individuals or organisations actually try to do something positive for their fellow beings, or the well being of the planet.

I don't have a negative or cynical reaction EVERY time people try to do something. Just when they exaggerate things, claim things are helping when it's clear they are not. Claiming it will make people change when at 9.00pm it was shown that nobody and nothing changed.

I really don't see anything wrong with pointing out that it was actually an hour when people claim last years even save the equivalent of 47,000 cars off the road for a year.

I don't see anything wrong with pointing out that I believe the poll they did after the last even was loaded in their favour. And that it was a poll of less than 1,000 people.

Primrose wrote: »

Of course these are very small steps. But there are millions of us on this earth and if every individual takes a few of these small steps, the result can end up making a spectacular difference.

But people didn't take a few steps, they turned the light off for an hour then turned it back on again and have done nothing since. Some people didn't turn the light off because they didn't find out in enough time to tell others they were going to do it.

You can find that insulting if you like, but the fact is you have stated that you didn't do it because you didn't have time to send out a newsletter and email everyone in your address book. You could have just done it without telling anyone you were going to do it!

Primrose wrote: »

Like an increasing number of people I believe that this planet is only on loan to us while we're here so we have a duty not to leave it in a worse state than when we arrived here.

I agree with that, but I also don't think we shouldn't be jumping onto band wagons with our eyes closed.

littleowl

Oh for heaven's sake! Isn't any useful diminution in energy use beneficial? If everyone thinks that each tiny step is useless because it is a tiny step and that anything done by an individual is too small to make a difference then nothing will ever be achieved.

I take exception to your comment about 'jumping onto band wagons with our eyes closed'. My eyes were not closed, I took action because I believed the gesture really meant something. And I do believe that people gathering together can make a difference. If you don't believe that, that is your affair but I feel sorry that you think yourself so powerless.

geordie_joe

littleowl wrote: »

Oh for heaven's sake! Isn't any useful diminution in energy use beneficial?

Yes it's beneficial, but I wasn't arguing about that. My point was last years even did 8,760 times less good than than some people believed it did. Even the true figure was grocery exaggerated.

Someone exaggerated the figures for last years even, then people multiplied those figures by 8,760 and believed the event was more successful than it really was.

littleowl wrote: »

If everyone thinks that each tiny step is useless because it is a tiny step and that anything done by an individual is too small to make a difference then nothing will ever be achieved.

But small steps have got to be followed by more small steps if you want to get anywhere. In the case of earth hour I think a small step was taken, but then all those that took it stepped back at 9.00pm.

Look at places like the Sydney Harbour bridge, Opera house, the tyne bridge, my local town hall......all lit up like christmas trees all night. OK, they all switched the lights off for an hour, to show support, but they switched them back on at 9.00pm and forgot about it.

We would have done more good spending an hour writing letters or emails to the relevant people demanding they turn them off. OK, they impress the tourists, but there's not many around at 4.00am so why not demand that they turn the lights off at 4.00am instead of 7.00am and save 3 hours every night.

If we managed that it would be a real step forwards. A saving every day of the year, or at least 6 months of the year.

I believe we have to use some electricity, life wouldn't be worth living if we didn't. But we also use a lot that we don't need to use. It's the waste we should be targeting, not doing a one off thing that is not going to help and thinking we did more than we actually did.

littleowl wrote: »

I take exception to your comment about 'jumping onto band wagons with our eyes closed'. My eyes were not closed, I took action because I believed the gesture really meant something.

What did it mean?

More to the point, what did it achieve?

littleowl wrote: »

And I do believe that people gathering together can make a difference.

Me too, but just because we gather together and do something it doesn't mean we DID make a difference.

littleowl wrote: »

If you don't believe that, that is your affair but I feel sorry that you think yourself so powerless.

I don't think I am powerless, I just prefer to channel my power into something that will do some good.

dizzy_lizzie

Hi geordie joe
You ask 'more to the point, what did it achieve'
Surely every little bit does help. Even if only a handful of people and hopefully it's more, are turning off their electricity when they'd otherwise leave it on like lights, power points etc then it's using less electricity than it would have before and that must only be a good thing.
I'm sure you do this anyway as well as channelling your energies into other useful stuff, but surely you can't disagree with the fact that any electricity saved is better than it being wasted. And it of course helps our electricity bills.
Luvz dizzy x

geordie_joe

Hi dizzie

I was just off to bed, but have to stay up a bit longer to answer your post because it is a very good post. It was well thought out, logical, completely true and didn't attack me because you thought I don't agree with your opinions.

I completely agree with you, anything that reduces the electricity we use is a good thing. But I am questioning the publicity and about it and what people believe they have achieved. Yes some electricity was saved, and therefore some CO2 was not released into the atmosphere.

Yet the site claims 2 million people turned their lights off last year, in support of the cause. But those figures were based on a poll of less than a thousand people and includes people who didn't turn their lights off, but had another appliance that was switched off at the time. They asked people if they had an appliance that was switched off at the time and if they said yes they were counted as participating.

They also timed the hour to be on a Saturday night, when it well known that more people are out on that night than any other. Therefore it will follow that more people will answer yes to the question "were your lights turned out on Saturday night"?

Even then they were reduced to asking, when the answer was no, "was your computer turned off", "was your TV turned off", "was anything turned off?"

When they say "2 million people in Sydney turned their lights of in support last year" they actually mean "We asked less than a thousand people if they had an electrical appliance switched off during that time and 57% of people said yes". "We just multiplied it up and told you 2 million people turned their lights off."

I support the idea for turning things off, I just don't like being lied to to. Nor do I like being attacked by people whom believe they took part in something that saved the equivalent of taking 47,000 off the road for a year, when it actually saved the equivalent of taking 47.000 cars off the road for an hour. There's a big difference between an hour and a year.

I especially don't like being attacked by someone who says they didn't take part because they they didn't have time to email everyone they know that they were going to do it. To me they were only going to do it for the praise they would get, not because they cared.

Give me the person who quietly got up and turned the light out any time!

I could go on, but I won't. But please don't think this post is attacking you, or your views. It's not, your post was the only reply to mine where I didn't think the other person was attacking me because I didn't think the way they did.

.

dizzy_lizzie

Thanks for your reply geordie joe
Hmmm didn't know about the stats, perhaps they made it seem more than it was so that people would think they'd made a huge difference and were then more likely to repeat it, who knows.
Well if we just keep doing our bit at least we know we're trying and hopefully we're righting some of the wrongs we do to our planet in our own small way.:D
Luvz dizzy x

joanie

I did a quick search to see if this had already been posted but couldn't find anything.
Has anyone else heard of it / going to take part?
I just found it on google... 28th March 2009 between 8 and 9 pm you turn off your non essential lights.
This started in Austrailia 2 years ago and went global last year and they are expecting more and more people to take part. Whole cities took part and the additional plus was that the night sky was more visible as no light pollution.

Just a thought for us OS MS's a bit of a saving on the electric and some quality family time! We are going to turn off all lights/tv/radio/computers etc. and light a few candles and play some old board games and talk. - Oh! and a bottle of wine might come into play:rotfl: