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What are you doing for Earth Hour?

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 4:42 PM EDT 28/03/08

Who's switching off, and why ...Read the full article

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  1. Eris Korenyx from The Heart of Hell, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya writes: A funny thing about empty gesture like earth hour are the ironies they breed. For example, people driving to Earth hour celebrations are all burning gasoline to get there. Meanwhile, those who plan to do their laundry etc. during the hour are helping save by using electricity in what will be a non-peak time.

    Let's not get too smug in our various smugnesses, eh?
  2. CD W from Canada writes: Earth hour is a facile waste. Any thinking person who has any self interest, would have switched light bulbs, unhooked the extra fridges, purchased energy efficient appliances, even before the rebates. In my case, I have cut my monthly hydro bill to 36 dollars. If I use my central air in the summer, it goes up slightly to 49 dollars a month. Earth hour, nice, but really folks, if you are going to put an extra 70 bucks a month back into your pocket, then there are huge savings all the way around.
  3. The choices we make decide our place in life from Canada writes: What will I be doing? Let see: There is the laundry, the dishes (in the dishwasher of course), and vacuuming. While I am doing this my wife will be driving my daughter to dance class and driving to the grocery store.

    Instead of empty gestures give us real solutions. You can't just slam the breaks on modern civilization because some tree huggers want to make a statement. Real solutions, not statements, will deal with pollution.
  4. James P from Spruce Grove, Canada writes: Earth hour is a good name. Too bad it is being used for this.. A more productive hour would be to have thousands cleaning up the garbage around their roads and highways. Or planting some trees.. Or trading out the old bulbs for CFBs. Or how about an hour of people gathering up all the waste products such as old medicine/paint/batteries around the house to be disposed of properly. If these things happened and enough people did them I'd say earth hour really did make a difference.
  5. globefan Eh from Canada writes: I will be one of those making the effort, at best it makes a difference, at worst it didn't harm anyone.

    People in BC see what is happening to lakes and rivers when people make absolutely no effort to conserve and we pay the price in so many ways.
  6. Ted Harrison from Canada writes: The choices we make decide our place in life from Canada writes: 'Real solutions, not statements, will deal with pollution.'

    So, what real solutions are you engaging in to help leave a viable planet for your daughter's children?
  7. Bob Fox from Calgary, Canada writes: DO we have to be continually bombarded with this foolishness day after day? Why doesn't the media discern between eco-propaganda and real hard facts? The onion has better news stories.
  8. David Houston from orillia, writes: Nothing that I wouldn't normally do. Isn't it funny how we haven't heard much about the greenhouse effect this winter. Hmmmmmmmm
  9. L Harder from Canada writes: Empty gestures are a slippery slope to actually doing something. Is there some secret guilt that brings out this negativity?
  10. Mark H from Indy, United States writes: I think I'll let my truck idle in the driveway for an hour to protest against this stupidity.
  11. Dave AAA from Canada writes: A typical stupid wasteful exercise bought to you by the people who make their living off of providing us with stupid wasteful exercises.
  12. Saskatchewan Seal Hunter Club from Canada writes: Okay....point made........but really........what a FARSE. Lets start by turning off the computer, and quit wasting time and energy reading this crappola.......CLICK
  13. Antonio San from Canada writes: Fully moderated? For earth hour? Man, it must really be politically incorrect to question AGW, its fearmongering and its financial backing and its media promotion. Earth hour: My lights will be fully ON!
  14. Vickky Angstrom from Canada writes: The point of earth hour is to influence politicians who know how notoriously stunned and excuse-ridden the general public is (see above). If 50,000 people in Canada can actually organize themselves to sign up to turn out the lights for an hour, you can be there are at least another 100,000 who will vote in a similar manner.

    This is a creative, non-violent, catchy way to make a political point. If you are too lazy to vote, or participate, or support this, at least say so instead of trying to make up valid reasons why you just can't get it together to do even this small thing.
  15. Placido Durango from Home on the range, Canada writes: Everyone who wants to do something potentially useful for Earth hour should:

    1. Switch on your computer
    2. Google contact information for any elected representatives who represent you.
    3. Send them the following message in an email:

    'Dear Madam/Sir:

    As a citizen I demand that you pass legislation forcing businesses to turn off lighting in unused areas.

    I promise you, if you fail to support or bring forward this legislation, I will vote for another candidate at my next opportunity.

    Regards,

    XXXX'
  16. B to the A to the R to the T from the left coast, Canada writes: After a long weekend with 1 trip to Whistler and some local mountains and spending $120 bucks to fuel up the SUV (which needed 4WD this winter for all of 30 min, partly because it's not FWD) The wife and I decided to get a Prius and for earth hour we'll ... like rabbits under the warm glow of our LED crank up flashlight.
  17. B to the A to the R to the T from the left coast, Canada writes: The choices we make decide our place in life - Your name says it all. The poor choices your family will make will truly decide your place in life and in a lot of people's books. Thanks for showing your true colours.
  18. Howard Roark from Whitby, Canada writes: 'Earth hour' this year; 'Earth Day' in a few years, then 'Week', 'Month'...before long, the alarmists will have us back to the Stone Age where they want us.
  19. Eli D from Gatineau, Canada writes: yea im gonna turn everything off and go for a walk downtown...people turn on all your lights if you want but who really cares what you do? its your choice....everybody knows the 1 hour wont save the world....its a statement....if you want to dirty it with politics and negativity...go right ahead!....who ever said the issue of keeping our environment clean was a left or right issue?....its pretty pathetic for BOTH SIDES....I just want a clean and safe place for my (future) kids and their kids...that’s all!!!!
  20. Frank N. Stein from Canada writes: Placido Durango from Home on the range, Canada writes: BLA BLA BLA ... As a citizen I demand that you pass legislation forcing businesses to turn off lighting in unused areas.

    Idiot - crime will skyrocket. The thieves will be jumping fences in search of scraped bronze to steal. go ride your bike around the block and ponder this.
  21. A M from Canada writes: It is a good way to bring attention to an utterly important matter however they lost me when they started planning all the 'festivities' around it. Do we really need a free Nelly concert to help us save energy? Has our society become so engrossed in celebrity only to become so ignorant to the truly important matters in this world? In fact, I'm pretty sure it won't be an acoustic set. Does anyone else see the irony in this?
  22. Michael Sharp from Victoria, Canada writes:

    What am I doing for Earth Hour?

    Why going to Mars, of course.

    Martians are so much more rational.
  23. Rick Drysdale from Canada writes: Placido Durango
    Who are you going to vote for if no candidates reply to your ultimatum?
  24. Dave AAA from Canada writes: I think we should have 24 consecutive hours of similiar pointless political gestures like this, so naive people like Vickky can think they are actually accomplishing something. So right after Earth hour we will go straight into End poverty hour followed by the End violence hour and so on. To cap it off off we will finish with the End Stupid Gestures Hour. Sadly, none of the 'hours' will accomplish anything but people like Vickky should be feeling pretty good by then.
  25. Some Guy from Ottawa, Canada writes: If I were to hit the main switch to my house, leaving it dark, desolate and cold for one hour, what sort of energy would be lost by my furnace, fridge and deep freeze catching up to it's original state once I have reenergized my home?
  26. Randal Oulton from Canada writes: She obviously didn't grow up with my English grandmother. If you left the lights on in a room you weren't in, every hour was whacking hour, LOL!

    There's nothing now any of this can teach us that our grandmothers didn't try. But still, more power to them for trying anyway.
  27. Clive Gingell from Canada writes: James P: Clean up GARBAGE? How demeaning. Everyone knows that the only way to 'make a difference' is to be seen attending a rally, or wearing a wristband, or somesuch.

    But actually picking up trash? Yuk!
  28. Dennis sinneD. from Calgary, Canada writes:

    I'm gonna shut off my TV... and play COD4.
  29. J L from Toronto, Canada writes: Having a huge free concert during Earth Hour is the dumbest idea ever...
  30. Bernard Kahn from Vancouver Island, Canada writes: Earth hour? Here at our undisclosed location on a small island we don't need no stinkin' Earth Hour; in the past few years we've had spontaneous power outages lasting up to 6 days!
  31. Brian C from Canada writes: I will be eating pepperoni, jalapenos, and pork and beans with all the lights on and windows open to help support the notion that people are responsible for climate change.

    Fully moderate that, editor.
  32. Farenheit 451 from Vancouver, Canada writes: Are these all the same people who screamed blue murder when they were told they couldn't smoke at their desks anymore?

    Why not take a valium, turn off a few lights and sit around the fireplace telling ghost stories to your kids? Do it for FUN!! Do it because we all spend too much time watching TV rather than talking to each other! Do it for a change of pace and to try something a bit different!

    And if you don't want to do anything then don't, but for the love of Mike stop BITCHING about it!
  33. Sam Gallagher from Calgary, Canada writes: This is a complete waste of time. At best, this 1 hour is highly symbolic, and at worst, it will engender a false sense of 'doing good'. If we want MEANINGFUL reduction of Green House Gas, then let's do something with teeth.

    Taxing the life out of SUV drivers is a good place to start. Nothing modifies behaviour more than an attack on one's wallet. Also, here in Calgary, one sees numerous automobiles with a single passenger going to park in an already congested downtown. Mandate the parking charges to $1000 per month per stall, as a form of taxation on those not using public transit, and there will be all sorts of stalls available for casual, short term parking in the core.

    Until such meaningful measures come into play, I, for one, will not be participating in the farce that is this 1 hour blackout.
  34. Sean L. from Toronto Center, Canada writes: One writer notes: 'I am planning for an Hour of Power. At that time, I will do laundry, wash dishes, watch TV, download some files on my computer ... and make sure that all the lights are on.'

    Tenille Bonoguore: Oh, come on. Surely you can do better than that. Why not dig a moat around your house, fill it with glowing nuclear waste and hire a troupe of trained monkeys to perform while wearing electrically-charged power suits? At least that has imagination.

    I too was planning an Hour of Power! But if you can tell me where I can rent a troupe of trained monkeys to perform while wearing electrically-charged power suits, I will be happy to do this too!!!

    Another silly pop-enviro-nazi plan from the latte-drinking beer and popcorn pseudointellects. Maybe while you are at it you can all drive your Lincoln Navigators off to some hippy drum circle spewing uneeded carbon from both your truck.

    Meanwhile I will be at home enjoying my off-peak use of electricity as is promoted by my hydro utility. And yes, my laundry will probably be running too, although my lights will likely be off cause I'll also be enjoying a movie.
  35. Sue City from Canada writes: I'm seeing monster-sized posters and advertisements for this everywhere. Isn't that defeating the point!?

    Why can't they use word-of-mouth and electronic-based promotion only???
  36. Lee Turner from Canada writes: Some of us actually practice being good environmental citizens everyday, not just for one hour a year. Imagine that!
  37. Ed Long from white Rock, Canada writes: My partner thought the Earth Hour was last night, 8:00 to 9:00.

    She turned off all the lights, the computers, and lit candles while sitting and watching a 42 inch plasma TV as her was wash dried in our clothes dryer .... 'I need those things.'

    Typical liberal enviro-wacko.

    I drove across the border and filled my car with cheaper U.S. 92 octane gas.
  38. Joe Liberali from Canada writes: Doesn't it take a lot of energy to actually turn things back on? And what's the carbon footprint of candles people will likely burn?
  39. V ADS from Canada writes: It's snowing here in Vancouver today! Big thick flakes too!

    Where is this so-called global warming? It's almost April and there's only one straggly half-dead daffodil in my garden. The trees are so bare it looks like Toronto. The dandelions aren't even blooming.

    For Earth Hour, I will sit in front of a roaring fire and read the classic book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.
  40. East End Snob from Toronto, Canada writes: So sad to see so many people 'protesting' this. Yeah, it may not be the final solution for all of Earth's problems just by turning off some lights but PROTESTING it isn't helping either and it is making it worse.

    Sadly, we need to be taking BABY steps to show the ignorant self absorbed people out there that we NEED TO DO SOMETHING to save our planet. Most of you haven't gotten the message yet...clearly. Many of the comments on here prove the very reasons why our earth is in shambles because you are too ready to fight every little tiny thing that isn't in the realm of perfection for you.

    You have the 'all or nothing' attitude. It'll get you nowhere.
  41. Dick Nails from Canada writes: To save the world, I am going to burn the enviro agit-prop crap that lands in my mailbox every day. How many mailings from the Sierra Club, Dave 'Dave' Soozuki, Greenpiece etc do you get? A lot? Way too much? Way way too much? I can't believe they call themselves greenies too much?

    Hypocrites? Nah, sanctimonious piety at its finest.
  42. David Spaetzel from Port Elgin, Canada writes: Has anybody considered the effect of this sudden reduction in load will have on the the power grid? A coordinated reduction in load at an unexpected time can be quite disastrous. If we manage to trigger another major outage, we may actually manage to save some real power. I hope the boys at Hydro are not asleep at the switch.
  43. Randall Goodwin from Canada writes: I find this concept to be completely counterproductive. We have worked hard for many years to research, develop, and implement strategies for reducing our environmental impact. We have tried to teach people that there are things they can do that have very limited impact on their day to day lives, but have large environmental benefits, then we come up with this hairbrained scheme which seems to suggest to people that saving energy means doing something drastic like living in your house with NO power.....thereby sending a message that to do something positive, you must make a major sacrifice (i.e., having NO power available), which will have absolutely no environmental benefit. Why not use the resources/effort we are wasting on this bad message to do something that actually helps and at the same time, sends the RIGHT message; that being that there are small things people can do which have very little impact on their lives (and save them money) that will have a positive effect, instead of telling them they should do something very inconvient that will accomplish NOTHING.
  44. Jorly fuster from Canada writes: Nothing, since electricity isn't really the problem. It's too bad they didn't tell people to not eat meat for one day as that is the real cause of climate change. but since it's impossible for people to not eat meat even for 1 minute, it's unlikely earth hour will do anything.
  45. Borys Nijinski from Canada writes: Has anybody given any thought to what may happen when, first things are switched off enmass (ie massive step unloading of the hydro grid) and then secondly when, again, enmass things are switched on (ie massive step loading of the hydro grid)?
  46. Borys Nijinski from Canada writes: David Spaetzel...oops my comment came before I read your posting.
  47. Howard Roark from Whitby, Canada writes: How many enviro-alarmists does it take to turn off all the light-bulbs?

    Not enough...there will always thankfully be rational people who do not over-react to minor changes in the climate, blaming man's folly, and trying to take us back to 1912.

    Hopefully this gets through the moderator...my comments about the Zuke and Goracle didn't meet the criteria, despite being a well-thought out effort!
  48. Voice of Reason from Canada writes:
    The cynicism of many of these posts is shocking, and obviously way out of step with what the vast majority of Canadians think.

    This is hardly an empty gesture.

    Is 2 minutes of silence on Rememberance Day an empty gesture?
  49. East End Snob from Toronto, Canada writes: 'V ADS from Canada writes: Where is this so-called global warming? '

    Read up on global warming...your snow IS a sign of global warming.
  50. bill wilson from Canada writes: So from 8 to 9 in every Metropolitan Area in the country we want alll the lights to go out. Anyone remember what happened in New York in the last blackout? All the thugs, hooligans and low-lifes are rubbing their hands with glee.

    While you are sitting around your earth-candle, you might want to consider keeping you shotgun 'at the ready'
  51. Ted Harrison from Canada writes: Howard Roark from Whitby, Canada writes: 'there will always thankfully be rational people who do not over-react to minor changes in the climate, blaming man's folly, and trying to take us back to 1912.'

    It's about more than climate. There has been a 50% increase in the global population since I was born less than half a century ago. This rate of growth isn't slowing, and global per capita use of non-renewable resources is increasing. Why would we not make every possible effort (including debate provoking symbolic gestures) to reduce our impact on this planet, if only to give our grandchildren a fighting chance at having a viable world?
  52. John Leigh Walters from Waterloo, Canada writes: Of course, everyone reading this realizes that turning lights out at night means nothing. Power peaks occur during daylight when industry is doing its deed and the system is designed to accomodate those peaks. Office towers lighted through the night are using surplus capacity.
  53. P. Mulloy from Calgary, Canada writes: I just happened to see the posting on Earth Hour and was curious as to it's utility and purpose.

    Yes Earth hour and the 60 minutes of action it hope to generate seem somewhat trivial. However, it may just get a few more people thinking about the real issues about what we are doing to our planet and ourselves. It may help people think about more substantive moves.

    The 800 pound gorilla in the room is really the Earth's massive, population which causes unimaginable global consumption of resources with the resultant strain on the entire environment.

    Lowering our individual consumption and being environmentally responsible only makes sense!! However, without some sort of population strategy it is really a wasted effort in the long run.
  54. Nature Lover from Two Hills, Canada writes: I will be sleeping with all the lights off. Hey, wait a minute -- I do that every night for 8 hours!!!

    Maybe if I had an office tower and could turn all the lights off in all the empty offices (thus spoiling the night-panorama of city lights we are ALL used to in big cities), then I would feel like I accomplished something. Hey, maybe Christo could 'design' lightscapes for large cities to 'create' a cool city look without EVERY FREAKING OFFICE TOWER BEING LIT UP FOR NO REASON.

    Yes, Earth hour made me think -- beyond one hour, and about the bigger picture.
  55. Alastair james Berry from Nanaimo BC CANADA, Canada writes: I feel this project is absolutely useless but it does show how many individuals are under the delusion THAT WE ARE SHORT OF POWER! The world is awash with power from the sun, but the GLOBAL WARMING enthusiasts seem to think that we will avoid frying the human race into extinction with GHG emissions if only we conserve power and reduce CO2 discharges into the air! Surely we went through this exercise before in the 1970-71 period? I was in Ottawa. All the govt offices switched off the lights at night....and illumination levels inside the buildings were reduced to 80%....It was UNPATRIOTIC to leave Christmas lights on for more than 2 hours a day!......and all non-essential driving was discouraged at week -ends!! The happiest folk were the Municipalities and Provincial road building authorities.......ALL SUPER HIGHWAY projects were summarily cancelled.....Why build roads if by the 1990's the world would be OUT OF GAS? (and we are still suffering from that decision!) HUMANS produce GHG emissions - YES - So less humans, less GHG EMISSIONS.....and less pressure on resources, environment(oceans forests rivers but also hospitals housing road congestion). The human race itself is the problem!! If all the individuals who will switch off their lights would switch off their reproduction capacity it would benefit PLANET EARTH far more effectively.
  56. martha stewart from Canada writes: If it feels good, do it. Its a free country, sort of.
  57. Bernice Chow from Thornhill, writes: I completely agree with what Voice of Reason has said.

    Earth Hour is not going to change the world. It's merely a way to get the message of conserving energy across and, hopefully, will start to create some critical mass.
  58. brokeback mountain from toronto, Canada writes: throw a big party to celebrate.. aren't we all doing that?
  59. Sam Gallagher from Calgary, Canada writes: Voice of Reason from Canada writes: The cynicism of many of these posts is shocking, and obviously way out of step with what the vast majority of Canadians think. This is hardly an empty gesture. Is 2 minutes of silence on Rememberance Day an empty gesture?

    How dare you equate the silence on Remembrance Day with this futile exercise !!! To do so demeans the sacrifice of those generations of veterans who sacrificed so much for our currently wasteful lifestyle.

    Instead of participating in this stupid 1 hour exercise - instead why don't expend that effort into putting the heat on our politicians to start taking this seriously and starting to tax/regulate wasteful behaviour !!! And, the best way to start doing that is to tax the heck out of energy usage - particularly by the SUV set.
  60. James S from Canada writes: The fact that the Earth Hour event has generated discussion, including the debates here as to the real-world effectiveness (or lack thereof) of a one-hour symbolic action, means that is has succeeded. People are talking about energy use - maybe not doing much, but at least they're starting to talk about it...
  61. A non-Imus from Canada writes: It's like Mother's Day. You know, like how you do something nice for the old lady once a year based on an externally-determined calendar date.
  62. brokeback mountain from toronto, Canada writes: ok, we got the message, please turn the light back on.. next.. btw, i thought we left the light on so the birds won't crash into the office buildings
  63. Dick Nails from Canada writes: I hope there is a satellite pic of a darkened world, or at least the parts that are dark at the appointed hour. We can look at it and see what the world used to look like before power generation replaced burning fats. That will be a warning to what the world could become of the eco-freaks win.
  64. martha stewart from Canada writes: Jorly fuster writes: 'Nothing, since electricity isn't really the problem.'

    Sure, electricity comes from heaven. Unbelievable comment!!!

    Nature Lover writes: 'Maybe if I had an office tower and could turn all the lights off in all the empty offices'

    And in TO, apparently home to a high proportion of self-righteous pseudo-environmentalists, those lit office towers attract tons of migrating songbirds which hit them and die. That no doubt kills more birds than many of the things these folks scream about (outside of TO of course).

    And hey urbanites, do you let your cat out?
  65. Wasabi Jones from Canada writes: I'll be letting my two hummers idle.
  66. guy tozer from Saskatoon, Canada writes: Not going to do a thing. I bought all new fridges and freezers,'energy efficient' last summer , and went to flourescent bulbs. I think that is enough. Besides I did it to save money not the environment. This is all just bull about global warming'causes'. It's a natural occurence.

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