"Earth Hour" & flashaholics?

[Big_Ed]

If nothing else, observing Earth Hour should slightly lower your electric bill. Not much, but every little bit counts.

 

[Flying Turtle]

I'll play, but is this 8:30 PM 3/28 EST, or GMT? I went to the web site and then to the closest location to me and it said 8:30. Seems like it would be more "effective" if it was done at the same time worldwide.

Geoff

 

[sORe-EyEz]

i think it should be 8.30pm in the repective country? :shrug:

hmmm, since not all big corps are into "Earth Hour", i wonder if i'll find anywhere to play with my lights, if at all.

 

[callmaster]

It's suppose to be a big thing here, tv ads and alot of landmarks have agreed to shut their lights off for the hour.

I expect the main areas in the city to power off and hopefully I'll find a place to play with me lights.

 

[jzmtl]

So, when's the hollywood thriller about big heist on earth hour coming out? :devil:

 

[RGB_LED]

I'll play, but is this 8:30 PM 3/28 EST, or GMT? I went to the web site and then to the closest location to me and it said 8:30. Seems like it would be more "effective" if it was done at the same time worldwide. Geoff

True... the only problem is that it would be day time in half of the world so turning off lights in those locations wouldn't quite have the same impact.

i think it should be 8.30pm in the repective country? :shrug: hmmm, since not all big corps are into "Earth Hour", i wonder if i'll find anywhere to play with my lights, if at all.

You're right... turn off lights from 8:30-9:30pm in your city. Too bad they didn't think to combine it with an arts event to get more participation... like Luminato or Nuit Blanche.

So, when's the hollywood thriller about big heist on earth hour coming out? :devil:

Er, I don't think Earth Hour means that the power will be shut off - just lights. But, you may have a good great idea for a script! Things do, uh, go bump in the night or dark after all... or something like that.

 

[Flying Turtle]

True... the only problem is that it would be day time in half of the world so turning off lights in those locations wouldn't quite have the same impact.

But, of course. Sorry, I was obviously having an elderly moment.

Was just listening to a local radio station that, jokingly, had an "Earth Minute" complete with frog and cricket sounds.

Geoff

 

[lumafist]

But, of course. Sorry, I was obviously having an elderly moment.

Was just listening to a local radio station that, jokingly, had an "Earth Minute" complete with frog and cricket sounds.

Geoff

Ha ha ha...!!


LOL, that IS funny...:laughing:

 

[bullfrog]

WOW I had no idea this was such a big deal here in NYC - its happening at 8:30pm here - I'm going to figure out the best place to watch the lights go out with my wife :twothumbs

Here is a list of participating buildings in NYC:

Empire State Building
Broadway Theater Marquees
City Hall
Manhattan Municipal Building
Brooklyn and Staten Island Borough Halls
United Nations Headquarters
Citigroup Center
New York Life
Time Warner Center
New York Public Library
Hearst Tower
The Thomson Reuters, NASDAQ, Chase, and Coca-Cola signs in Times Square
NOKIA Theater Times Square
Novotel Hotel Times Square
Con Edison Clock Tower
The Lipstick Building
Grand Hyatt New York
Columbia University
PACE University
New York University
The City University of New York (CUNY)
Building Owners and Managers Association
New York Green Building Council
Estee Lauder
Angels + Kings, owned by Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz
Education Housing Services Residences
Mitsui Fudosan America, Inc.
The Hippodrome Building
Gaby Restaurant

East River Bridges' decorative necklace lighting, including:

* Brooklyn Bridge
* Manhattan Bridge
* Queensboro Bridge
* Williamsburg Bridge

Tishman Speyer Properties, including:

* The Chrysler Building
* Rockefeller Center
* MetLife
* CitySpire
* Olympic Tower
* 375 Hudson Street

Silverstein Properties, Inc., including:

* 7 World Trade Center
* 120 Broadway
* 120 Wall Street
* 529 Fifth Avenue
* 570 Seventh Avenue
* 575 Lexington Avenue
* 1177 Avenue of the Americas
* One River Place

Monday Properties, including:

* The Helmsley Building
* 1440 Broadway
* 237 Park Avenue
* 260 Park Avenue South
* 386 Park Avenue South

Hines properties, including:

* 750 Seventh Avenue (Morgan Stanley)
* 383 Madison Avenue
l

 

[StarHalo]

I'd like to participate just to show my neighbors how dark the street would be without me; I'm the only house on our cul de sac that leaves their outdoor lights on overnight (a trio of 26w/100w equiv lights), so I basically provide light for the entire area.

There's also a streetlight that's in front of my house - this nicely pours more lumens on top of what's already in my yard, but there's no way to turn it off. I've tried pointing the hotspot of the Stanley HID directly at the photo-switch, but apparently the streetlight manufacturers have done their homework.

Any ideas?

 

[Benson]

Go plinking?

J/k, of course -- even if it's "for the earth", I don't think the laws make such exception...

 

[Bradlee]

...While electricity usage will hopefully be down by 5% again this year there is no guarantee CO2 emission will drop by a similar amount. As everyone with a fireplace knows it is quite difficult to shut down a fire immediately then bring it back to a full blaze an hour later. So the coal fired power plants might simply throttle back the turbines and generators and let the firebox alone. The excess energy is simply dumped into the cooling system heating up rivers, lakes, seas or air. The utility may not even bother to throttle back the generators simply letting the voltage go up. (From 110V to 125V for North American homes. As long as the voltage does not go above 125V the power plants do not have to do anything.)
If Earth Hour is extended to Earth Weekend the power plants will dampen down the fires for economic reasons. But they may not do it for just 1 hour...

Haha, so true. Regardless, I'll take any excuse to play with my lights .

 

[DaFABRICATA]

I'd like to participate just to show my neighbors how dark the street would be without me; I'm the only house on our cul de sac that leaves their outdoor lights on overnight (a trio of 26w/100w equiv lights), so I basically provide light for the entire area.

There's also a streetlight that's in front of my house - this nicely pours more lumens on top of what's already in my yard, but there's no way to turn it off. I've tried pointing the hotspot of the Stanley HID directly at the photo-switch, but apparently the streetlight manufacturers have done their homework.

Any ideas?

Look for a junction box and snip the wire...

 

[StarHalo]

Look for a junction box and snip the wire...

Have you seen the size of the bulbs in these streetlights? I won't be bothering those wires..

And there is a junction box just a yard away from the post; I'll bet you anything that there's a nice big breaker switch in there that would simplify things nicely, but the box cover is held in place with a single pentagon-head bolt - I could have it open in a few seconds with the Leatherman, but then it would be clear to any passing authority that it wasn't just some miscreant kid who randomly kicked off the cover..

Ah well, next year I'll plan ahead and put 150-watt HIDs in the house fixtures or something..

 

[Monocrom]

WOW I had no idea this was such a big deal here in NYC - its happening at 8:30pm here -

Here is a list of participating buildings in NYC: ...

I'm working Saturday night. If a ton of lights over at Manhattan go out, at least I'll know it's not a blackout.

I should probably bring a few extra lights with me. But most likely, I'll just bring along my Novatac 120P to supplement my EDC work light. (A Surefire E2E w/ TLS Q5 LED head).

Shouldn't be surprised that so many parts of NYC are participating in an event of pure symbolism over substance. Once Earth Hour is over, everything will go back to the way it was. Nothing will have changed for the better. But at least two groups of folks will feel better....

Flashaholics, for really getting a chance to use our lights. And everyone else... for feeling better about themselves, despite not actually having done anything regarding energy conservation.

 

[edc3]

My daughter and I are planning to get some snacks together and play cards by flashlight. Last year we lit some candles, but one of the cats got singed. Burning cat smells really bad. :eeew:

My daughter will be using her purple E01 and I'll be wearing my new Mako around my neck. :thumbsup:

 

[sygyzy]

We had major blackouts here about 6 months ago due to raging wildfires. I have no shortage of lights but they are meant to be singular beams, not light up a room. Are there any cheap and easy tricks I can use to make flashlights more usable in a dark room? Basically, I want the light to spread all over and be used in a way that nobody ever has to look directly at it. Or if they did, they wouldn't see a blazing LED. I am looking for something more creative that "tailstand"

 

[StarHalo]

Are there any cheap and easy tricks I can use to make flashlights more usable in a dark room?

Set your lights atop high items like bookshelves and cabinets, pointed towards the ceiling for a nice reflected/ambient effect.

If you need to diffuse a light, wrap a piece of paper into a cone and set it over your tailstanding flashlight (or cone a subscription card from a magazine and just set it on the light). Frosted mugs/glasses/vases work nicely here too.

 

[NonSenCe]

during earth hour i sat in dark sauna with my tk11 aimed to the ceiling.

*didnt bother to change the bulb today either so took the fenix with me again*

 

[Benson]

Maybe trying to strap all my regularly used lights on my person isn't such a good idea most of the time, but for Earth Hour, nothing is too silly.

With a Garrity headlamp and a couple wristbanded 1x10440s on full-blast, and two hotwires and at least a half dozen random LED flashlights at the ready (and of course, a Stanley HID over one shoulder), this is turning into a pointless, but inordinately fun exercise in lumen squandrage. I think my kitchen illumination is actually using even more power than it normally does...

Pointless gestures FTW!