"Earth Hour" & flashaholics?

sORe-EyEz

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an excuse to whip out my lights when its dark.

now, i'll need some information where is "the place" to be.:thinking: before the fun begins.

any folks here have a novel way to mark that day? :popcorn:
 
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LEDninja

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Hamilton Canada
Oh no, those idiots are at it again.

Year 0. BC Hydro/Government asks residents of British Columbia to turn off all non essential lights and electrical appliances for a specified hour so they can determine wastage. A study had found BC residents use a lot more electricity than the rest of Canada.

Year 1. WWF asks residents of a city in Australia (Sydney? can't remember) to do the same to demonstrate how much less greenhouse gas will be produced if we are more careful with our electricity usage.

Year 2. WWF spreads Earth Hour around the world. Created such a backlash in Calgary electricity usage went UP 5%.

Year 3. WWF are just repeating Earth Hour? They should expand it to Earth Weekend. After all it is just as easy to turn the lights off for the whole weekend in those big office towers with nobody working inside as for an hour.

Year 4. WWF should make Earth Weekend every weekend through the year. This would save 3120X more electricity than Earth Hour (Earth Hour*24 hours * 2.5 days * 52 weeks).

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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.

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I hate walking into walls and doors and tripping over the furniture. So I will leave my nite-lites on during the hour same as last year.

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BTW when is Earth Hour this year?
 

sORe-EyEz

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in S'pore it's the 28th of March. not sure if its the same worldwide. agree switching off lights alone for an hour is too small a gesture for it to be effective. if lights use up that much power then its back to the drawing board again... :crazy:

every weekend is nice, for those who miss this week's earth hour there's next week to look forward to. :naughty:
 

Chuck289

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I went up to the north side of the Golden Gate bridge last year. I think I remember the lights going off on the bridge and not much else. Pretty disappointing.
 

powernoodle

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secret underground bunker
Plants breathe in CO2 and breathe out clean oxygen, which we need to survive.

Yet some people want us to reduce our CO2 output.

Why do these people hate plants and want them to suffocate?

Ok - I'm joking. But just barely.


al-gore-hair.jpg
 

zx7dave

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Earth day and earth hour I use only rechargeable flashlights...is fun and supports a good cause
 

JWP_EE

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If they turn off all the lights where I live I hope it is a clear night and the moon is not out. I have never seen the milky way from my home. I always have to travel to a dark site to see it. Astronomy is my first love - flashlights take a back seat. :)
 

sORe-EyEz

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seems like pretty much the same in S'pore. its not Earth Hour if most lights are on... :shakehead
 

Chuck289

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If they turn off all the lights where I live I hope it is a clear night and the moon is not out. I have never seen the milky way from my home. I always have to travel to a dark site to see it. Astronomy is my first love - flashlights take a back seat. :)

Have any good pictures of the milky way? I always like those long exposures, its amazing what a camera can reveal.
 

dano

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East Bay, Cali.
I'm turning on every light I own, just as a counter protest to these global warming, carbon footprint lunatics that are attempting to change the world through an unsubstantiated fear of anthropogenic global warming.
 

Empath

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What do we have, Dano, when the other camp wants to call those in your camp lunatics?

The line between the event being discussed, and the political conflict involved is easily crossed, but it can be avoided with but a small amount of thought and respect.

Let's try to keep the topic active here, rather than taking it to the Underground.
 

Big_Ed

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Sycamore, Illinois
If I remember it when it's time, I'll turn off all my lights, and TV too. I'll probably still use my laptop (on it's battery) to check in on CPF of course! I'll even kill the electric heat too.
 

sORe-EyEz

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from the responses so far, it doesn't seem like a big day for flashaholics to head out & have fun in the darkness (or the lack of it... :ohgeez:)... :mecry:
 

LuxLuthor

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MS
What do we have, Dano, when the other camp wants to call those in your camp lunatics?

The line between the event being discussed, and the political conflict involved is easily crossed, but it can be avoided with but a small amount of thought and respect.

Let's try to keep the topic active here, rather than taking it to the Underground.

What gives you this sudden burst of precarious optimism? LOL!

Luckily, I have no idea what Earth Hour is, but it sounds like something to do with Armageddon. What happens...anyone who shines a bright light will be spared or something? Or is this more of a wooden stakes and Holy Water scenario?
 

Monocrom

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Aug 27, 2006
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NYC
Earth Hour is a nice symbolic gesture.

What's needed is something of substance that will help with energy conservation. Why be wasteful?
 

Empath

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*2nd warning* against using the topic to inject political controversy. Use the Underground.

This time, the post was removed.
 
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