Question of the Week: Why did or didn’t you observe Earth Hour?
Posted on March 30th, 2009 - 10:30 AMEach week we ask a question related to the environment. Please let us know your thoughts as comments. Feel free to respond to earlier comments or post new ideas. Previous questions.
On the evening of Saturday March 28, millions around the world turned off their lights for an hour to demonstrate their awareness of the need to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Why did or didn’t you observe Earth Hour?
Tags: earth hour
| Permalink | TrackBack
Subscribe to this blog's feed
Follow us on Twitter
Question of the Week
March 30th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I did observe earth hour. we turned off the lights and played board games by candles. a fun, simple night that was beneficial for the earth. I hope EPA supports and publicizes more efforts like this!
[Reply]
Corrado12 reply on March 30, 2009 2:53 pm:
I heard about it awhile back, but never heard much until it was over, I would have liked to participate but maybe next time it will be published in the paper or on the news to remind eveyone before hand, unless I just overlooked it, could be the case too. It’s a good effort but years too late, they should’ve been worrying about this before the 2000’s hit!
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 10:44 am
No, it was pointless.
[Reply]
Dillon reply on March 30, 2009 2:31 pm:
I respectly disagree. It actually saved quite a lot of energy. I also think it gave the people an idea of what saving energy is like and hopefully put it into their minds so hopefully we can have more of these. More and more of these days could hopefully reduce amount of buring coal production and help turn around the process of global warming.
[Reply]
Matt reply on March 31, 2009 1:38 am:
Global Warming, or climate change, due to CO2 emissions is an unscientific claim. People who say otherwise are misinformed or misled.
[Reply]
Anonymous reply on March 31, 2009 11:16 am:
Hi Matt, I know you have read very good scientific studies to support your claim. As we know, a lot of what we read is information that has been influenced by someone who has either an agenda or a lot of money. In the case of global warming I am sure there are studies that have been conducted by both sides that are extremely biased. I do believe in conspiracy theories but I also try to keep them in perspective because I don”t believe the sheep can be mislead as much as some would argue. In the case of global warming, there are a lot of very intelligent scientist who have no agenda (financial) and have used very accurate measurements to track and correlate CO2 emissions and human involvement with the phenomenon of climate change. The fact that 98% of the scientific community supports these findings and 2% does not leads me to believe that their conclusions are correct. Aside from that, having grown up in Los Angeles and lived with smog the first twenty three years of my life I can attest to the health drawbacks of CO2 emissions. This is all man made pollution and I believe we would all be better off if we did something to limit it.
[Reply]
Anonymous reply on March 31, 2009 9:33 pm:
http://www.ourcivilisation.com/aginatur/moregw.htm
Your facts are extremely distorted. Movie stars and Al Gore can not be counted as reputable scientists. Good grief.
[Reply]
Chris reply on April 1, 2009 2:40 pm:
You are correct in that Al Gore and movie stars are not scientists. They are just people stating that they believe what the scientists report.
However, the last IPCC report was authored by 620 leading scientists. You can see who they are and check into their background here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_authors_from_Climate_Change_2007:_The_Physical_Science_Basis
[Reply]
Cara reply on April 1, 2009 1:25 am:
Chuck, I mean this honestly, in the most respectful way that I can put it, but people like you are pointless!
Sure, at 9:30 p.m. all of us who took the time and effort to participate were like, “Yeah, thank goodness we can turn back on all of the things that we are so accustomed to and take advantage of everyday.”
Sure a massive energy surge probably occurred as we all turned on our precious televisions so that we could watch reruns of whatever crap was playing on them, but the point is we participated.
It was not about the fact that we were making a short hour long tribute to global warming and mother Earth-it was just the fact that those of us who are well educated on the topic knew what it meant and how important it was to participate!
A little education goes a long way-Chuck!
Pay the few bucks to take an environmental science class so that you can get educated!
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 1, 2009 3:23 pm:
Dear Ma’m or Sir or Alien,
I support your opinion and what you said to “Chuck” (the loser)
120%.
although, you didn’t have to be that nice to him. Global Warming
is a serious issue and perhaps it is good to participate in such events, even if it is only for the purpose of awarness.
I would also like to include the fact that if we don’t take action, our
environmentis slowly being destroyed, like it or not Chuck!
WHAT?! You just got served Chuck!
So, I would just like to say that it is important to support the various indevers to help our planet. God bless America!
Amen to that Reverend!
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 11:19 am
I did participate. I support the event, and its messages, but I feel it is inappropriate for a government agency to sponsor or support such an effort with tax payer dollars. I am glad the government is for taking action on global warming, but there are better ways to show it than supporting an NGO’s event. The link from the EPA banner went straight to a page that said donate to WWF. Not my idea of what the governent can and should be sending people to. To a lesser extent it is like having a link to donating to the RNC or the DNC. I care about the environment, and do all I can do, support similar organizations, but I don’t want my government leaning in one direction or another liek this. There are 100’s of events by other organizations that do more than just give a political message to take action. Are you going to link to those?
[Reply]
Ray reply on March 30, 2009 12:37 pm:
Well said, Sven.
[Reply]
Jeffrey Levy reply on March 30, 2009 1:19 pm:
Thanks for your thoughts, Sven. We always try to balance public good against appearing to endorse specific organizations, and I’m sorry we failed to meet your expectations in this case. We did link to the Earth Hour page, not to WWF’s home page, and we thought the much larger portion of the page focused on the message about energy usage awareness was the main point.
As for other organizations and other messages, if they make sense, we may well link to them. I’d welcome your sharing your ideas for such links.
Thanks again for letting us know your opinion!
Jeffrey Levy
EPA Director of Web Communications
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I did not observe it because I didn’t feel like it.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I participated. And I encouraged as many people as I could to do so as well.
It is very important to get and keep the energy/climate challenge that we face in the forefront of everyones day to day thinking and actions. Any and all efforts to accomplish this, such as Earth Hour, are helpful.
Keep up the push and keep getting the message out EPA!
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I did observe Earth Hour. It helped reaffirm the fact that we rely too much on energy and use too much energy. Many times we light 2 or 3 rooms instead just lighting the room we are in. It was both restful and peaceful.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I did observe the Earth Hour with my family.We left our house and had a day out.I fully support this endeavour.I think we should have ‘Earth Hour’ every three months,to cut down massive energy consumption.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
We did and we planned to but there was an area wide power outage for about 2 hours - our power company handled it for us! We have not learned why the power went out, the weather was ok. The wide area outage, however, made a lot of people fire up their generators!
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I participated by attending an even at a local museum. I wonder though if it really makes a difference if one hour out of the year we turn off the lights? Will that one hour even make that much of a difference to peoples electricity bills for them to understand the financial benefits of conservation? Do people even get the message this event is suppose to be sending about climate change and conservation? I really doubt it. I would hope that next year the focus becomes more on education about conservation rather than having a party to watch some lights turn off. I understand that its suppose to be symbolic of someones committment to reducing our energy usage, but it would be interesting to see if it actually changes anything (i.e. in one month has energy usage actually declined as a result of Earth Hour?).
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
we supported it talked and cuddled by candle light
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
My household actually did participate, but not because we chose to participate. Actually, I was not aware that there was an Earth Hour this year, LOL! The advertising really needs more advancement in order to reach the majority of the public. At any rate, we did have our lights turned off around 8:30 pm and they weren’t turned back on until close to 10:00pm. This is because in the evening, when we are done with eating etc, we usually try to use as little lighting as possible in our home to save on electric usage. I was exercising and my child was watching television and the dogs and birds don’t care either way :D. Earth hour is an awesome plan, but we have a routine of no lights every night unless we need them. I am also a college student and half, or more, of my reading material are electronic articles that the professors post online that I download and read from my computer, so even those assignments don’t entail the use of lights, and I use a laptop so it still conserves energy, it only needs to use it when the battery needs recharging, and this LION battery lasts about 4-6 hours depending on the program. We also love the aroma and color one gets from lighting candles so we like to light them, however ever that is usually not necessary in our daily routine. That’s why we get so confused when we get ridiculous electric bills, I think they are strewed…. LOL, we hardly use any at all. We unplug things, don’t use the lights unless it’s necessary, eat as much raw food as possible, and our only outside outlet is on a screened in porch with no exit except through the house. Plus, we use those special twistie looking lights that allow you to use 26 watts of energy and get 100 watts worth of brightness, I think they are hallogen. Conserving electricity is important, the only other thing to work on is enlisting in renewable energy, but we have to own the place in order to do that. Renewable energy is a good alternative because it’s less wasteful and at the same time, you save money and sometimes EARN money through credits with the electric company. There are many many direct and indirect effects of high energy usage, through mining and renewability and chemicals and and air pollution, the list goes on and on.
Anyway, although it’s late, HAPPY EARTH HOUR!!! :D
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I was not aware of Earth Hour. If I had known, I would have supported the effort. In the future, I recommend better public awareness/education so that more people can get involved. I think people want to help protect the environment, but generally don’t know the best way. I think we (and EPA) need better Public Education efforts.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I had intended to, but as it turned out we were not home.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
I did observe Earth Hour and was happy to do it. I hope every gov. building in the country also observed Earth Hour. Why only have it once a year–why not once a month–maybe to get in the habit.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
My family observed the earth hour, and it gave us a chance to talk to our teen-aged son, who is usually a moving target. We all enjoyed hanging out by candle light, and would consider doing it more often. My only disappointment is that there is apparently no way to track the amount of energy saved — this would make the event a lot more meaningful.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I did participate.nd sent out a nte to my shpere of influence asking them to consider……….it felt like a small thing to do to show support for a Greener world……………..thanks for offering it……….
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I’ve done a lot of reading and research on global warming/climate change; and I’m convinced it’s a non-issue. Climate cycles are normal for the earth, and I believe what we’re experiencing is nothing more than that. Scientists are coming forward literally by the hundreds to say there is no such thing as man-made global warming. A British judge ruled there’s not one shred of scientific evidence to support Al Gore’s apocalyptic scenario. And the founder of the Weather Channel, along with thousands (no exaggeration) of scientists, are planning a law suit against Al Gore. (Gore even plagiarized glacier scenes for his movie “An Inconvenient Truth.” They’re not even real – they’re 100% computer-generated.) So I don’t want to participate in pulling the wool over people’s eyes.
[Reply]
Jon reply on March 30, 2009 1:38 pm:
Yes, I agree (as an environmental scientist). Climate cycles are normal for the earth. However, we humans, animals, plants, etc all have an effect on the environment, positive and negative. Yes, everything we do has an affect. Landfills. Wastewater treatment plants. Wind Power. Nuclear & Coal Plants. Driving our cars/SUVs/trucks/back-hoes/electric-cars all has an affect, and we can choose to try to “live better” and be more earth/environmentally friendly minded OR we can do nothing. I personally think that the “do nothing” option is a poor choice. It’s the same idea as teaching children about saving money for the future. Al Gore is an extremist, he only focused on PART of the story. You can make statistics say anything you want. I don’t think the earth is going to melt anytime soon. I do think that most of the glaciers will melt regardless of what I do, BUT that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up trying to reduce my impact. That’s just my opionion.
[Reply]
Chris reply on March 30, 2009 4:14 pm:
I am a chemical engineer who formerly worked for the power industry. I have studied atmospheric chemistry and I have discussed climate change with several of the self professed climate skeptics.
I am only aware of one climate skeptic who claimed there was not a man-made impact (and he has since died). What the others are saying is that there is a minimal impact due to anthropogenic activities. They do not claim that there is not an impact, as the science that explains how and why greenhouse gases function is fairly basic and well established. What the climate skeptics actually state boils down to a belief that there is a balancing function that effectively returns our planet to baseline, and point to normal climate cycles as proof of concept.
Beside the rather vague nature of the idea, there is a fallacy in using the historical record for normal variability to claim this is just normal variability, while ignoring the fact that we have not had this much CO2 in our atmosphere at any time in the past 760,000 years. We are running outside of normal operating parameters.
You stated that thousands of scientists and the founder of the Weather Channel are planning a lawsuit against Al Gore. Can you point to a reliable source for this data? Not only do I have significant doubts that thousands(!) of credible scientists would sign up for such a lawsuit, I cannot even come up with a plausible legal theory under which they could file such a lawsuit without being tossed out of court under Rule 11(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. If you have such a source, I would love to see it.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
We did observe Earth Hour. We turned off all the lights, lit some candles and talked. It was very theraputic. We did this, because it’s imporatant to care about the evironment and raise awarness. I told friends and encouraged them to participate as well.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
We participated, my 13 year old daughter took the initiative. In response to two other comments, I think it is governments role to support these kinds of activities as well as others. If no else is stepping up to the plate then it is governments obligation to get the ball rolling (then step back).
Why is it pointless to save energy, resources, money? I think maybe you were missing the point?
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I observed “Earth Hour”!
I’ve heard this quote so many times: “Save planet Earth”. I’m of the mindset of save humanity. Whatever we do to the Earth, it will adjust, and when it does, at the rate we’re going, we won’t be able to live on it.
Sometimes mankind has to be motivated for selfish reasons to do the right thing…
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I observed Earth Hour for the second year. Last year I sat in the dark for one hour thinking about what it would be like to live without electricity. It was a VALUABLE lesson for me. I have been trying to use less electricity and my electric bill shows that since 2005, I have reduced my electricity use at home by 35%.
This year when I turned off the power to my house, two lights remained on. They were the $40 solar landscape lights that I have in my kitchen and dining room. The solar panels are mounted outside the window and the cord runs in through the windowframe. I’m able to close the window on top of the cord. The lamps are located inside the house near the window. They don’t provide as much light as a standard lamp, but they provide background lighting. I used a third solar lamp to light up my journal and I wrote down my thoughts and my goals for Earth Hour 2010.
I will add 2 more solar lamps, this time in the living room. I have purchased a $65 hot water heater timer that I still need to install. I plan to set the timer to run for a half hour during the morning and evening. The rest of the time the electric water heater will be off. That should save about $10 per month.
[Reply]
NEWR reply on April 3, 2009 7:12 am:
Very intriguing idea — using solar landscaping lights inside — thanks for posting!
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
We did observe earth hour most of that evening. We did have a friend stop by so we had lights in one room for a while (I have asthma so the candle idea doesn’t work). The problem with ideas like this is that people think that doing this once a year makes a difference. Unless they are doing things every day - changing their habits on how they use energy - there is no chance that it will make a difference. We need earth hour to be every hour. To use energy wisely and really make a difference. MIT recently had a workshop on the the energy sources of the future. Despite the displays of solar and wind energy - the conference focussed on coal fired generation because Americans won’t change their energy usage habits. Electric utilities only provide what is demanded for energy - they only burn the coal and gas that is needed for the energy we want. It’s our responsibility. I support wind and solar as well as other renewables - but who among us wants electricity 35% of the time (if we are lucky). It begins at home!!!
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I once heard that what you practice everyday is your faith, the rest is religious froth. The same is true of our stewardship of the earth. I work everyday to improve the environment. Splashy PR events do not impress me.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I heard about Earth Hour, but knew I was going to be out anyways. It’s a good idea, but it’s a better idea to conserve rather than the extreme of turn off and on. All my light bulbs in my apartment are CFLs and I have one of those automatic smart-plugs that clicks off when my computer is off…which has saved me about $6 a month on my electric bill (even though they cost about $30). If you think about it, during the week, my lights are only ON for about 6 hours each day and OFF for 18 hours per day.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I could not participate as I was traveling during that time period, but my roomate at home did. He was calling family and friends to get them to join in. I think this is a very good thing obviously not for the one-time energy savings but to send the signal to our leaders that there is support for doing inconvenient or difficult things. I fear that our political system ensures that leaders cannot advocate for such things unless or until there is a crisis. The inertia of the sheer number of humans along with our complex behaviors, cultures and norms means that by the time a majority is directly affected enough to demand change it may be too late to avoid catastrophic consequences. Efforts to enlarge or make more visible or vocal the current minority who are willing to act are badly needed especially given the power of so many entrenched interests that will resist needed change.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Although we support the goals and objectives of Earth Hour, we did not participate because of recent home burglaries in our community. In other words, we were simply afraid to turn off the lights.
S. Marie
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
We did observe the hour by turning off our lights, however, we typically do that in the evening anyway and use candles. For the next earth hour event may I recommend that you also ask people to turn off their TV’s as well? Now that would really send a message and maybe make people realize that there are alternatives to just sitting like zombies each night in front of a TV…like reading!
Glad to see the EPA supporting this effort!
P.S. This is in response to the message above from P: Global Warming is real and I majored in Geology so I think I have an education to support that statement. I have no idea what scientists he is talking about that do not support the belief. Likely they are ones that are being paid well not to support it. Ask the ones that are not being paid by an organization that does not want people to know the truth and you will find a different opinion.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
We partially observed Earth Hour. While it was an interesting event for people, I’m not sure that the planners envisioned how 10% of people totally dropping demand and then suddenly resumed demand is very dangerous for a power grid. Dams and nuclear power plants don’t turn on a dime without 1) wasting a lot of potential energy 2) without some degree of damage.
In our city, shortly after the the hour was up, we observed an apparent surge that caused our computer backup power supplies to drop off the grid and go to battery about 10 seconds.
[Reply]
Chris reply on March 30, 2009 3:32 pm:
I used to work for a power company. All power companies need to be able to handle surges in demand, which is why power companies have a mix of base load turbines and peak load turbines. The difference between the two is how tight the tolerance is between the turbine blades and the outer casing.
Base load turbines have very little tolerance and are highly efficient. Those are the ones that you spin up to speed and leave running. In contrast, peak load turbines have a larger gap between the turbine blade and outer shell – they are not quite as efficient, but you can ramp their production up and down as necessary to keep the power grid balanced.
In a properly designed system, yesterday’s event could be handled without any damage to any of the systems. It should be of little surprise that power companies keep an eye on what events will be occurring that are likely to change the amount of load on the system, and although I no longer work for a power company, I can pretty much guarantee that they were aware of it and had planned for it.
The basic turbine concept is shared across almost all of the energy production platforms (coal, natural gas, nuclear, geothermal), and a properly designed system will absorb demand changes in the load with those peaker plants. Hydro is a bid different than the typical turbine, but the basic premise is the same. (For brevity, I will skip solar and wind.)
The short answer is that I don’t expect that any damage resulted. Yes, there would be some fairly negligible efficiency losses which cuts against some of the power saved, but the largest impact I could see on the power production industry is that breaks were shuffled around a bit so that everyone was on shift at the time that power dropped off, and again at the end of earth hour (which was probably a more gradual climb than the initial drop in power).
I hope that helps.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
C’mon!!! The Villanova game was on….the Sabres game was on. You think I dropped a Grand on an HDTV just to turn it off? I consider that I SAVED energy by NOT jumping into a car and driving 5 miles to support a bar that has 100 non-EnergyStar TVs all tuned to one event.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I was already out of the house at that time and house was dark; the retailer I went to was not observing it, which is good because it was a bookstore in which many people needed light to read the latest books on energy efficiency and lowering our carbon footprint.
The effort was commendable, however the Global Environmental Movement and the Public Sector should combine their efforts to use TV to provide more practical advice (during high rating shows - e.g. American Idol or the Celebrity Dancing Show) to citizens throughout the world about choices they can make every day that are more environmentally conscious and sustainable with an easy to remember website link for more details; the planet’s survival depends on us changing old habits and developing new behaviors on a global scale; this will take cultural re-education; and who better to do it than the publicly owned national airwaves using popular role models to deliver the messages during popular mass media events?
[Reply]
Anonymous reply on April 2, 2009 6:01 pm:
Actually the planets survival does not depend on us. It will survive without us. The real reason we want to conserve and be environmentally conscious is because we want the human race to survive. The planet will continue but the ecosystems will change and we may not adapt if nothing is done.
[Reply]
Jacqui reply on April 6, 2009 7:22 pm:
Yep, I want to live in a different ecosystem …. one without stupid people. Oh, and the ecosystems of the future you talk about if we stay on our present path will be uninhabitable. Yes, the planet will survive BUT life on it WILL NOT!
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I do not believe in the “green” revolution so I started all 3 of my one ton trucks and let them idle for a hour while I read the book John Adams, you know, one of our founding fathers that helped write the Declaration of Independence. I also hope all of you will host a tea party on tax day, April 15th, to protest Obama selling our country down the tubes. We have 3 planned in our area and are looking to get more by then. Also buy Fords, they did not take the bail-out money that Chevrolet did.
[Reply]
Michael Cummins reply on March 31, 2009 9:37 pm:
Nice! I like your style.
[Reply]
Jacqui reply on April 6, 2009 7:17 pm:
Republicans have sold our country to the highest bidders. After reading a lot of these comments I’d like to tell you naysayers, those who don’t believe in global warming or energy efficiency that people with IQs higher than 80 (the average) are the ones telling you to conserve. You really are ignoramuses without enough intelligence to even know how stupid you are. Did you know that Bush’s IQ is below average and Obama’s is almost double the average as am I and all the other scientists who try to tell you stuff for your own good. All I’ve gotten in my adult life is being called unbelievable nasty names by all the unintelligent, therefore uninformed, people like you out there.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I think Earth Hour was an wonderful idea and a great success. Me, my mom,dad,brother, and sister all sat down and played a fun game of monopoly. We mostly used are fireplace for heat and light along with a few scattered candles. It gave a very cozy feeling and it was fun having the whole family together. We usually dont have alot of those moments. I think it would be great to have more and more of these, over time. But one thing is I dont think this great event was publisized enough. My mom works for Enviormental Protection Agency and she didnt find out until a few days before. But overall i extremely enjoyed Earth Hour and cant wait to look for ones coming up in the future. Sinecerley, Dillon Leovic
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I don’t believe in your nonsense. It’s all an expensive rip-off.
[Reply]
ST reply on March 31, 2009 11:29 am:
turning off the lights and saving energy is an expensive rip off? what?!?
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I don’t observe Earth Day hour because I prefer to save energy and water on a regular basis where I can, rather than sacrifice only one hour a year.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Earth hour…I just didn’t know about it. If I had…I probably would have done it. I am however going to do a whole house electricity audit to see where I can cut down my electricity usage year round.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
We did observe Earth Hour. We turned off the tv, our computers, and unplugged all unnecessary appliances. We lit some candles, and talked. It was so engaging that we actually wound up talking for not just an hour, but an hour and a half! I felt that it was important to remind ourselves that we don’t need to spend energy to be entertained. It is also important to make a statement to the politicians and lawmakers that the environment is important, and that we are serious about wanting change.
I was saddened to read the comments posted by readers on many new stories about Earth Hour about people who were “protesting” by turning all their lights on. I thought that it was pointlessly rude and demonstrated a lack of respect for both the environment, and for society in general.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Although I believe in principle on the need to be energy wise and the need for energy conservation, it believe that just turning off ones lights does not address the long term issues. Energy is the number one issue of this century. I live in an apartment building where the lights are on 24 hours a day seven days, then I think of all of the buildings that have the same (multiply this a thousand or a million times), and what do you get? What good is turning off a thousand lights if a million, or a billion, are still turned on? What good is a new electric system if the delivery system is outdated and inadequate. Most housing in the major cities are from the 1950’s. or earlier. The process of education does begin with such things as turning off ones lights, if you have lights to turn off, but it is just a step in a long journey. The bigger picture is the nature of the modern city and the infrastructure that supports human life. All cities are based on an older and that is not adequate for how we live today. Can we create a new city for the new era of the twenty-first century? Maybe creating a new energy and electric grid and delivery system is where Obama should go, and maybe were there the world should go; together. Who will build the first ecological city that will be the for the next generation? One giant step for man kind.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 1:42 am
I didn’t observe the hour because I thought it was more important to see the people I was eating with and because there is no reliable, unbiased Global Warming science out there. There just isn’t. We are being deceived!
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 1:58 am
On the Earth Hour, we celebrated it as an special time. We switched off all electrical appliances and gathered in the hall and have a talk for more than a hour about the environment and discussed for the sake of greenery. We thought for planting the green revolution around us for making the environment better.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 3:47 am
I turned off the lights in my room and unplugged my laptop but the rest of my family kept their lights on. Hopefully next year I can convience my whole family to participate.
I participated because I think this is a great idea. If we can use less energy now that means we will have more for our future generations. If only the world could make this more than just an annual event. If only, if only, if only…
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 9:02 am
I didn’t know about it……Earth hour? What a great idea.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 9:11 am
I didn’t recognize Earth Hour because I was en route to NC. The rest of my family, at home, forgot! I so wanted to participate in this event. Can we try again?
On the good side, I heard about this event on the TV, from emails from friends, and via other mass media. So, the word IS getting out!
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 9:18 am
Because turning lights off for one hour is lame. Getting people to turn them off whenever they leave a room, and making other lifestyle changes (like properly recycling and minimizing driving) are far more important than some gesture that is symbolic only.
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 10, 2009 11:51 am:
chuck you are still soo wrong earth hour is for awarness, for in the futre thoose people who actualy did trun off there lights will help when an enviormental call has been made. becuase what we do today determens were we are tommorow. becuase arent we all planning for the futre? well the future is here and its time to make a differnce. like it or not chuck, so suck it up and trun our lights off for one mesily hour becuase it all counts.
what!? you just got served volleyed and bumped !
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 10:30 am
earth hour didn’t get enough pre press. it was over before i even heard about it.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 11:36 am
Those of you who forgot Earth Hour or didn’t know about it…do your own mini Earth Hour, anytime!
I don’t think the purpose is really to lower global electricity use for that one hour of the year—it’s a symbolic gesture that raises awareness about how much electricity we use every day.
Cheers, everyone!
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 12:28 pm
We most certainly did observe the hour. My daughter did also. We have my grand-daughter, her daughter to think of.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Not only is it a great idea — so very cool to see so many people around the world take part. I turned off — and unplugged — all of our devices, from HDTV to laptop computers, printers & A/C. My eyes were really opened after reading Tom Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded… and watching the PBS e2 documentaries. Change has to start at the local level, and I really believe every little bit counts! If you don’t believe me, watch some of the videos on TED.com. People much smarter than me are putting their $$ where there mouths are when it comes to taking steps to address climate change.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 1:58 pm
We certainly did observe “Earth Hour”. We sat around for the hour with candles and oil lamps. There are 3 generations living in our home…my husband and myself, our daugther, and our two grandchildren. I wanted to make a statement to my grandkids. It really made an impression on them. My granddaughter wants to know if we can do this every week. I said “Yes!”
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 3:05 pm
What Earth Hour?
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 3:36 pm
My family and I did turn out the lights and other appliances during Earth Hour - I had actually scheduled a community star-watch, but the sky was overcast. My family played cards by wind-up lantern. My wife, a historian, pointed out that all of humanity lived without electric lights for most of history. The children considered it just another adventure and had a good time.
No other house in my neighborhood had their lights off.
Concerning the other comments above; I believe that the kind of change the environmental community hopes to achieve will only come about through education, perspiration and the idea that true change only happens when the stimulus effects the “watch or the wallet”. If it costs the general public time or money - they will change, if not, then apathy takes over. I have always claimed that the two greatest threats to the environment are APATHY and IGNORANCE.
Energy efficiency and reduction saves money…period!
Being GREEN saves you GREEN$.
Time for me to step off my soap box and let someone else speak.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I feel horrible because I abserved Earth Hour last year, but I completely forgot about it this year. Sorry.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I really enjoyed reading through the responses people have had on this question. Everything from (and I’m paraphrasing) “Earth Hour is pointless” to “I’ve got a journal that I edit on Earth Hour each year where I reflect and set goals for saving energy next year” (completed under solar powered light fixtures).
There’s been good discussion on climate change and anthropogenic cause/effect.
To the point of whether the event has an effect on actually saving energy, well it’s just an hour, but ya gotta start somewhere! I like to think of Earth Hour as an event to spread awareness. And yes, seeing a city go “dark” is an impressive stunt… it helps start the conversation… or many conversations. It’s important to continue the education of energy usage and its ultimate effects on the environment.
Cheers!
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 5:40 pm
I observed Earth hour by going to bed early and turning off the lights! When I viewed the pics the next day (Sydney, Australia and other cities) I wondered why it was necessary to have all those light on in empty buildings at night anyway.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 9:42 pm
I am ashamed of all of you irresponsible sheeple. Al Gore wasted more energy lighting up his trees and driveway than all of you saved combined. Global warming is a complete hoax. If it weren’t than why won’t anybody debate it with more than fabricated facts. Here learn something. http://www.ourcivilisation.com/aginatur/moregw.htm
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 9:42 pm
For those who say they have done research, I highly recommend using google scholar or another scholarly search engine with peer reviewed articles rather than a basic internet search in order to find “thousands” of agreeing scientists.
I understand where people are coming from when they say that this was a silly and meaningless PR stunt. However, PR stunts are just that, stunts to get people’s attention. If you disagree with the premise, you’re still here frantically adding your opinion or reading, which means you’re thinking about a great idea someone had more than a year ago. I applaud earth hour.
I think it would be neat if EPA had a monthly Dark Hour or something. The idea might encourage communities to do something non-energy intensive together for one hour once a month.
I do agree that the EPA shouldn’t link randomly to biased organizations (in regards to the WWF statement). However, I applaud their support of Earth Hour, and I believe that a government institution should be able to support non-affilliated events like it.
Thank you to everyone who posted, I’m glad this forum exists.
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I supported Earth Hour because it reveals how much energy we use and how much we can save. Even if we just take little steps they add up. I was very disappointed to see a counter-campaign to WASTE energy during Earth Hour! I wrote a total of three Earth Hour related posts on my blog, “Gaiatribe: Ideas for a Thinking Planet.”
http://gaiatribe.geekuniversalis.com/2009/03/28/save-electricity-beyond-earth-hour/
[Reply]
March 31st, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Earth hour sounds like a great step towards a more eco-freindly America. It does sound very effecient to have a monthly dark hour. Building on this energy saving idea, it would be cool if more people were persuaded to unplug their unused appliances. This would then be essentially aiming towards the same goal as earth hour, to save electricity!
[Reply]
April 1st, 2009 at 5:21 am
Why is it just lights? It would make more sense if it was also computers/laptops. Computers eat up a lot of power when plugged in.
Maybe next year, Earth Hour could work with NASA to get satellite imagery between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00pm as each time zone approaches it the 8:30 to 9:30. This way they can use special filters to capture the lights from the surface before, during, and after the event. That would make much more sense in terms of showing the benefit and how many people actually participate during Earth Hour.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2009 at 9:18 am
I did not remember about the lights out thing. I would have done it, I mean what the hell sheeple. We humans have made a mockery of sentience. To say that we have had or are having no adverse effect on nature and our planet seems at least ignorant, and arrogant, with maybe a little cocky denial mixed in. The best analogy I have come across is that we are like a 100 year volcano. Where volcanic eruptions cause climate changes, these changes subside with time. The human eruption has not. As well, we have taken most of the pristine places containing most of the planets resources, lived in, exploited and changed them, seemingly forever. I know this will sound ridiculous to most, but instead of mirrors in space, or blankets on the ice caps, desalination, slowing the wind with wind generators, slowing streams and rivers with underwater generators and dams, inhabiting much needed arable land, selfishly breeding ourselves out of exsistence we could “reduce population and restore nature”. Does creating a sustainable utopia in this way seem a ridiculous idea? Human population is the number one problem on this planet. We are not the most important thing, unfortunately for many. Without nature there will not be much for us humans. I could drone on, and add much more but instead I will stop and write “observe and Think”. The Phil.
[Reply]
Cat reply on April 1, 2009 9:42 am:
Hear, Hear!!!
[Reply]
Quinn reply on April 3, 2009 11:08 am:
I must say that I totally agree with the population theory. I, myself, believe in and abide by zero population growth.I have one daughter, and would like to have one more. 2 children to replace her father and I. Although some think it’s silly, I think it’s the least I can do while still persuing the “sustainable american dream”… is there such a thing? :)
[Reply]
Matt reply on April 3, 2009 3:28 pm:
Population reduction is a terific idea. Anyone who wishes to create such a Utopia should be the first volunteers for this cause. Unfortunately that’s not what I’m after so I’ll be sticking around a little while longer. However, in the spirit of Brotherhood I’ll vow to use the remains those who do make the ultimate sacrafice to fertilize my lawn thus curtailing my use of chemical fertilizers.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2009 at 10:42 am
I wanted to participate, but I hosted a party on Saturday night. Some of my guests would have been amenable to turning off the lights, but most didn’t sound too interested! I wish it was a nicer night, and we could have just spent the hour outside on the deck in candlelight, but it was snowing! I encouraged my friends and guests to make up for it by conserving energy and paying attention to energy wasters for the following week.
I love the idea of Earth Hour! I hope to participate fully next time.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2009 at 11:21 am
I did NOT because I observe Earth Hour 24/7. I pay extra for electricity totally generated by wind. My natural gas furnace is 85 percent efficient. I had double-paned windows installed on my house. I keep the thermostat low in winter. I use ceiling fans and open windows, not air conditioning in summer. I use mass transit for 95 percent of my vehicular trips. Each year, I keep looking for and finding additional ways I can reduce my negative imprint. Even small things add up if we all do them.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2009 at 11:29 am
I would have, but I knew nothing about it. You need better advertising for these things! Why didn’t you just make it on Earth Day?
[Reply]
April 1st, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I did even though I only found out about it 2 hrs before. I have not heard anything about this anywhere. Not on the news local or national that I saw this week. This is something that should have been everywhere. I’m not far from Boston and they were suposed to be involved, I have friends downtown that had no idea what I was talking about. As a PTA member I would have gotten the schools involved if I had know about it. It’s really a shame this could have been much bigger if it had been advertised.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2009 at 2:46 pm
It was very nice to see the neighborhood dark. It appears that many of my neighbors participated, despite the poor media coverage in the main media outlets.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I just don’t get the point of this silliness. Are the people who feel so nice about this goofy stunt saying the world would be a better place if we gave it all up and went back to living in caves?
Then at 10:01 everyone fires up the pc to blog about how wonderful it was in the dark; while watching cable news to see how dark it was; and calling their senators to complain that there was’nt enough bilboards, newspaper ads, tv spots, plastic green bracelets… to let everyone know about this. The word for this is HYPOCRICY.
Here is a news flash: Everyone intuitively knows that conservation is good and wasting is bad. They don’t need a goofy stunt to empower them to “do the right thing.” Some people choose not to conserve just because they can and because they resent the fact that our “leaders” wish to control them under the assumption that they are stupid.
Here’s a suggestion for these hypocrites. “Change your assumptions.” Many people happily embrace living in our modern world and resent attempts by fervent environmentalists to condem them for it while they also greatly benifit from it (see Al Gore’s floodlights above). Instead of condemnation, try directing your collective energy towards creating a more efficient and ’sustainable’ but technologically advanced capitalist civilization. That would be much more preferable to everyone (with the exception maybe of the candle manufacturers) than sitting around in the dark.
[Reply]
Marco reply on April 2, 2009 12:23 pm:
Wow. It was an awareness event Matt. I have no idea where you get the idea that all, or even most, environmentalists are luddites or anti-capitalists.
Here’s a news flash. Voluntary events are not an issue of control … if they were, well, they wouldn’t be voluntary.
As an environmentalist, I do put my energy towards creating a more efficient and sustainable way of living. Technological advances are certainly one major way of pursuing this. Simple capitalism at its best is another way.
That last point probably could use some background. Basic economic theory tells us that negative extenalities - such as allowing carbon emissions to cause adverse impacts on people around the world without being factored into the cost of the good - is an example of where markets fail to function properly and yeild sub-optimal results. So we also look to things such as a carbon tax that adjust for the negative externalities and allow our capitalist economic system to operate more efficiently, and provides the incentive to reduce or eliminate that externality. What I describe above is a straight out of the textbook example of economic theory. A very strong part of environmentalism is about getting our economic system to operate more efficiently.
Hopefully that helps to illustrate that we already are what you are suggesting we should be. Come on over and become part of the solution.
[Reply]
Matt reply on April 3, 2009 11:42 am:
Marco
Thanks for the basic economics lesson. It seems to me that punitive measures are not the best way to go about eliminating negative externalities. Punishment does not equal incentive. This also does not address emissions from the planets largest polluters… Developing nations. The end result is we hinder the most innovative industrial engine in the world while the most primitive industrial complexes chug along in hopes of acheiving a fraction of what we have while causing adverse impacts on the world.
By the way I am also a geologist by trade, work in the Environmental Enineering field and lastly I am also a self professed environmentalist. I just don’t believe that these are the best ideas for finding a balance. Try putting down your Intro to Macro-economic textbook and thinking; then we can both become part of a real solution.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I didn’t know about it until it was to late.
[Reply]
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:09 am
We turned off the lights at the zoo! Even if you are not worried about climate change…you should remember that you can save money by conserving energy!
[Reply]
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:23 am
I support the idea but was doing the bedtime routine for my little one right at that time so it was not feasible for our family.
And, yes, yes, this needs to be advertised better. It’s something I think most people would do if they new about it and if community companies/leaders/our employers were doing the same.
[Reply]
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:26 am
Wooo Weeee! Did we have fun for Earth Hour!
We rushed home from Manhattan, the three kids helped turn off non essential appliances ( Radios, Water filters, lights, ).
We ate dinner by candle lights. After dinner I read, chapter 13 of the Magician’s nephew ( Narnia). Then, we wrote with the liquified wax from the 8 candles. That was fun. One hour was too short!
Steve
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 8, 2009 3:25 pm:
We had a party too! Cool! WE screamed at neighbours all night!
[Reply]
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I did not know about it. I wish I would have! I am truly disappointed that I missed this.
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 8, 2009 3:24 pm:
You should be dissapointed but at least you know now!
[Reply]
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:25 am
My son’s FCPS elementary school publicized Earth Hour and gave incentives for the kids to participate. Good publicity, yet appropriately optional.
It was a positive experience for kids, who want to feel that they are making a difference. What we’ll remember most is our surprise at how much light remained when we turned off the lights! Our kitchen glowed a creepy green from the LED clocks and indicator lights on the large and small appliances. My sons counted 12 sources of LED light in a pretty small space! Some night we might experiment and try to cook by the lights of the LEDS …
[Reply]
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 am
My 5-year-old daughter was very excited to participate. In fact, she got her grandma to participate, too. We had planned on taking a night walk, but the weather didn’t cooperate. But we still had fun. It was very interesting to see on CNN how many people and organixations WROLD WIDE were participating. It was honestly moving and I was proud to be a part of it. For those who say it’s pointless… think again. It’s a statement- how much energy can be saved by such simple means… not pointless at all!
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 8, 2009 3:23 pm:
sweet!
[Reply]
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Pointless, hype.
[Reply]
April 5th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
My wife and I participated quite simply because we were at some friends house and they participated!
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 8, 2009 3:15 pm:
Great but do it on ur own next time! Peace out!
[Reply]
April 6th, 2009 at 8:35 am
I was not aware
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 8, 2009 3:14 pm:
You must be living under a rock not to know about Earth Hour. I live under a rock and still knew about it. But, I can forgive you if you learned your lesson. Props to u!
[Reply]
April 6th, 2009 at 11:13 am
I agree with the notion of useless waste of resources. No matter where I go businesses leave lights on in offices, marquees, security lighting when no one is present. Motion sensitive lights would be a much more efficient product. Perhaps fewer jobs would be lost if business could cut expenses in other ways.
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 8, 2009 3:12 pm:
True say!
[Reply]
April 6th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Wow, I didn’t realize how much useless lighting goes on around the world. Why do we do this? To show our greatness or what? Why must all the monuments be lit up? How many people really go to see the pyramids, etc. at 3am. Why don’t these entities turn the lights of when they leave like we do in our homes? Ill bet the energy savings would be astronomical.
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 8, 2009 3:12 pm:
Darn straight!
[Reply]
April 7th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
I observed Earth Hour this year & last. As I did last year, I sent e-mails & texts, and phone calls to remind everyone. I think it’s a great way of making a statement & I love that it’s a trend that’s catching on. The city skylines look beautiful.
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 8, 2009 3:11 pm:
Amen to dat reverend!
[Reply]
April 7th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
I work at a state capitol and the we observed Earth Hour by turning off monument lights. (There were people still working in the building, so it wouldn’t work for all lights to be off)
[Reply]
April 8th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
i think earth hour is a very important issue
[Reply]
samantha reply on April 8, 2009 7:16 pm:
Amen!
[Reply]
April 19th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Global Warming is a HOAX people! Wake up. Those pesky volcano’s have put more gasses into the atmosphere. than we could ever have thought to!! Global Warming is A Hoax and AL Gore leads the pack!!
Wake up….Wake Up…..
[Reply]
Kevin S. reply on April 19, 2009 10:15 pm:
I love it!!
[Reply]