Earth hour is STUPID.

By Zellio Posted March 29, 2008 03:15:56

I use solar powered outside lights, leds for inside lighting, I'm switching to 15 seer and above air conditioners, I turn off my pcs after use, I use only low powered flat panel screens, energy efficient pcs (except for my core 2 duo 8800 monster, I gotta have it man :X), energy efficient appliances, X10 home automation for lights to keep power low, irobot vacuum for lower power use, and programmable theomostats.

My sister drives a car with 36 average mpg. My mom drives a car with 26, my brother 25. I drive a 36 mpg car.

Guess what? Earth hour is a pile of crap. Your not fixing a problem, your only having a bunch of people with incandescent lighting turn them off.

Here's an idea. Get more energy efficient stuff. Then the energy problem won't go for an hour, it'll go for good.

0 Karma 67 Replies 8 Referrals

Or when I walk past the Sheboygan Union Hall and see all the foreign made SUVs in the parking lot.

-- made me thing of cheese curds in the middle of this discussion and smile . . thanks

I don't observe Earth Hour, but I do like to try save energy when I can. Seen "The Inconvenient Truth"?

I think "Earth Hour is stupid" is a bit harsh...

What gets me is, turning the lights out for Earth Hour isn't as much to conserve energy as it is to "reduce light pollution". That way we can see the stars better.

"light pollution"? What next? Color spectrum pollution, from all those colors that are just too harsh on the eyes? ROFL

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Urban sprawl is still one of the biggest issues in the Western World. Everyone wants his piece of dirt...and to keep up with the Joneses that dirt must be at least as big. Service infrastructure costs shitloads...the lower the density [population] the worse it gets. And then we're back to tyranny of distance....the bloody car/commute/freeway/traffic jam/roadkill/death and injury. /cost to the community of insurances/Hospitalization/stress/suffering.

There's no need to 'read something' [even War and Peace was boring]....all you need do is engage your brain....
...and go out there and look....

Absolutely, I agree with you and so do others I'm sure! It's what we have learned, trying to keep up and wanting our piece of the pie, perfectly natural. So many of us though are realising that wanting doesn't mean that we have to destroy (even though so many have) we are learning new ways to do things one step at a time and that is a good thing...for those of us who wants to do it. It doesn't make us super human or perfect, it just means we choose to be a part of the solution. In so doing, it doesn't mean we're going to get it right all the time, but we can keep on trying. Having someone else poke fun at an entire group of people who feel they should do something, is another matter. If you don't want to, it's your choice (generally speaking not pointing at you) that's all we're saying.

"Read something" could mean anything, "engaging your brain" as you put it, going outside, beyond your four walls, going on the Internet, going to the library, seeing someone else do something and perhaps learning and maybe thinking twice about the way you do it, might just be a good thing. It's up to each of us.

Having someone else poke fun at an entire group of people who feel they should do something, is another matter.

There are many, many people that are 'doing' something ecologically sound and not uttering one peep about it; much less proclaiming their 'noble' deeds to the world.

It's those that loudly proclaim with the obvious intent of collecting accolades, while exhibiting grossly anti-ecological behavior ... jetting all over the country/world to coerce, harangue, embarrass, or legislate others to 'do as they say' that receive the ridicule.

jetting all over the country/world

Like the recent World Summit on Carbon emissions...all these folks flew their private jets to the summit, rented limo's and the like...to go to a carbon emissions summit. Then they got pwned by Prince Charles who gave a speech, walking back and forth onstage...and he wasn't even there...it was a hologram of him.

And therein lies the issue.... it fairly obvious that the people who can make the largest impact (leaders, industry, etc.) aren't willing to change their own way of life. Why give up all those creature comforts? And unfortunately, the true environmentalists usually end up being the focus of critcism and jokes....

This thread deserves a quote from the Gospel of George. Carlin, that is.

We’re so self-important. So self-important. Everybody’s going to save something now. “Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails.” And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these fucking people kidding me? Save the planet, we don’t even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven’t learned how to care for one another, we’re gonna save the fucking planet?

I’m getting tired of that shit. Tired of that shit. I’m tired of fucking Earth Day, I’m tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren’t enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world save for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don’t give a shit about the planet. They don’t care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don’t. Not in the abstract they don’t. You know what they’re interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They’re worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn’t impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are fucked. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We’ve been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we’ve only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we’re a threat? That somehow we’re gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that’s just a-floatin’ around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles…hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages…And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet…the planet…the planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE!

We’re going away. Pack your shit, folks. We’re going away. And we won’t leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet’ll be here and we’ll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet’ll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

George rules

This thread deserves a quote from the Gospel of George. Carlin, that is.

LOL! Good call!

The planet’ll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

No.

Mankind is arrogant enough to ensure no-one and nothing survives its dominance.

Nothing in the earth's multi billion year existence has prepared it [her] for what mankind will do to it.

Earth is the Mother.

WE ALL are the mother-fuckers.

It's ever so twee to quote platitudes and nod approvingly like cognicenti ....but when all is done don't quote Carlin....quote Tom Lehrer....

"We'll all go together when we go....." ...

If you guys want to bet on who is right - I'll hold the money pending the outcome.

The planet’ll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

It's ever so twee to quote platitudes and nod approvingly like cognicenti ....but when all is done don't quote Carlin....quote Tom Lehrer....
"We'll all go together when we go....." ...

Tell ya what. You nod to your favorite satirist, I'll nod to mine. We'll be twee in harmony.

Zellio, where are you getting your LED's from? I have replaced dome lights (especially night light bulbs...use C7's that are sold for x-mas lights), but have not found many affordable LED's.

I don't use many lights. We really only have two lights that are on more than a couple hours a day. Right now, both have compact fluorescents in them that have been in them over a year. I'd like to switch over to LED's though. We switched all our x-mas lights (inside and out) over to LED for the past couple years and now only see about $4 in increase in electric while they are up versus almost $50 with traditional bulbs.

We try to conserve where we can. Some things just aren't realistic for us (like living close enough to walk to work....especially since both of us work in totally different cities and live in the country so that we can have land). We compost, we grow an organic garden, we have a corn stove for heat (burns shelled corn), recycle whatever we can...blah blah blah blah. But, lighting, cooking and cooling the house is still problematic.

I'd like to do some solar, but I'm not sure it will do much considering where I live Wind generators are interesting, but they are so expensive. There just aren't great alternatives to some things, and some things just don't have a practical solution (ie: living closer to work would mean no garden or access to bulk corn, as an example).

Earth Hour is after dark where I live, so I probably won't participate. Plus, the meter on my house is gone (electrician took it), so why waste an opportunity?

Er...you kinda missed it....

Jafo:

No.
Mankind is arrogant enough to ensure no-one and nothing survives its dominance.
Nothing in the earth's multi billion year existence has prepared it [her] for what mankind will do to it.

Good job reinforcing George Carlin's point about the arrogance and hypocrisy of some environmentalists. I wonder how much of the Earth's resources were exploited just so you could have a computer and internet on which to complain about exploitation of Earth's resources. ;~D