Flashaholics rejoice! Earth Hour 2008 is coming!

13 world cities to turn off lights for an hour next year to highlight global warming.


The date is set for 29th March 2008.

News article here

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra will plunge into darkness at 8pm local times on March 29 to cut greenhouse gas emissions as part of the International Earth Hour campaign.

They will be joined by a host of cities including Chicago, Toronto, Manila and Tel Aviv, with many others expected to sign up to the campaign in early 2008.

I'm pretty sure power plants will be keep running, and keep putting out pollution, excep the produced energy will be wasted instead.

jzmtl said:

I'm pretty sure power plants will be keep running, and keep putting out pollution, excep the produced energy will be wasted instead.

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The plants produce as much energy as it's needed. Most never shut down (except for maintenance) because they need hours to get back to running condition, but all plants throttle down their generators when full power is not needed.

Still, one hour will do two thirds of bugger all for world pollution. I imagine this is done to raise awareness, not to lower pollution directly.

What about nuclear power? Isn't that supposed to be clean?

13 world cities to turn off lights for an hour next year to highlight global warming.

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.... I'm really having a hard time keeping myself from posting something very sarcastic in this thread. So as to not insult anyone directly, I will do my best to refrain.:green:

MSax

Wow, that's the best idea i've ever heard....oh wait, what happens when my fish start dying b/c some hippie @sshole shuts off their life suppost system? Try conserving rather than forcing nonsense on everyone.

nanoWatt said:

What about nuclear power? Isn't that supposed to be clean?

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Hardly. It's better than fossil fuels, because radioactive waste gets buried deep as opposed to just blown into the air to be breathed by us all. "Clean", however, is not the proper term, as I'm sure anyone who used to live at Pripyat would agree...

scottaw said:

Wow, that's the best idea i've ever heard....oh wait, what happens when my fish start dying b/c some hippie @sshole shuts off their life suppost system? Try conserving rather than forcing nonsense on everyone.

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They'll turn off the lights, they won't shut down electric power to the whole city.
I hope, at least... that would be colossally stupid.

Wow, that's the best idea i've ever heard....oh wait, what happens when my fish start dying b/c some hippie @sshole shuts off their life suppost system? Try conserving rather than forcing nonsense on everyone.

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"Every time you eat a steak, a hippie's hacky sack goes down the sewer."
-Patton Oswalt

MSax

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL1323823

I wouldn't want Al to blame us for not hitting the switch also...better do it.:candle:

I wonder if this will actually cause more greenhouse emissions in the long run? With every light turning off at the same time, and every light coming back on again, there are going to be so many blown bulbs and popped breakers. It costs greenhouse gases to manufacture new ones. Good work hippies!

Just go along with it. I'm thinking of how cool my city would look completely blacked out. Of course, we'll need some upstanding citizens patrolling the area to prevent any illegal activity. They might need lights...

From a more personal point of view, I'd be waiting eagerly f I were in one of those cities. Not out of flashaholism, but because I love to watch the stars - and you can't do that with all the light noise that cities usually have at night.

Why not just call it "Looting Hour 2008" because that is what most likley will happen.

Aren't lights a safety feature in most places? Streetlamps, in Subways, any dark building ect...

Bad things will happen...

Damn Hippies....

Increase awareness? All it would increase for me is a desire to keep the lights on, and if I have to burn coal to do so than so be it.

If they turn off the light(s) shining on 'ol Glory...I'm going to have a problem with that....(the most guilt-free part of our electric bill are the kilowatts running the halide lamp shining up on my pride and joy 38 foot pole with the soaring eagle on top).

I don't think there is any other way to turn off ALL the light in a city other than kill the power. Some people wouldn't go along with it just to be different. It would be cool to see a major city in complete darkness (even though I don't live in one), but I don't think that one hour will make that much of a diference in the scope of things.

EDIT: On the record I don't believe in Global Warming; if you do, thats fine, but I don't.

Rzr800 said:

If they turn off the light(s) shining on 'ol Glory...I'm going to have a problem with that....(the most guilt-free part of our electric bill are the kilowatts running the halide lamp shining up on my pride and joy 38 foot pole with the soaring eagle on top).

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I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?

jugg2 said:

I don't think there is any other way to turn off ALL the light in a city other than kill the power. Some people wouldn't go along with it just to be different

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The major source of light in a city are not people with their home lighting. It's road lighting, stores, ads and such.

Of course, I wouldn't want to be around at night when the lights to out... certainly not with anything of any value on myself.

Hell it's gona be -21 with -31 windchill tonight, bring on global warming so I wouldn't freeze my *** off. :devil:

Originally Posted by Rzr800
If they turn off the light(s) shining on 'ol Glory...I'm going to have a problem with that.(the most guilt-free part of our electric bill are the kilowatts running the halide lamp shining up on my pride and joy 38 foot pole with the soaring eagle on top).

Fallingwater said:

I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?

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No problem...'Ol Glory is an older term for the American flag and it is proper etiquette in our country to shine a light on her throughout the night. Is this a requirement in other countries as well?

lol with the reported power cuts around the globe each year,this is nothing new,except giving you prior warning and asking you to DIY,thanks for that "BIG BROTHER.:devil:

TITAN1833 said:

lol with the reported power cuts around the globe each year,this is nothing new,except giving you prior warning

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I was thinking the same thing. I'm sure everyone in Southern California will enjoy having a measure of warning before their lights go off.