From the “bah humbug department”. I have nothing against energy efficiency, I have LED’s myself and I didn’t even put them up this year. But, timing is everything, and people already stress out during holidays. Adding a guilt trip over Christmas lights hardly seems necessary or productive. – Anthony
From Australia’s Courier Mail
By Graham Readfearn
December 24, 2008 08:06am
SCIENTISTS have warned that Christmas lights are bad for the planet due to huge electricity waste and urged people to get energy efficient festive bulbs.
CSIRO researchers said householders should know that each bulb turned on in the name of Christmas will increase emissions of greenhouse gases.
Dr Glenn Platt, who leads research on energy demand, said Australia got 80 per cent of its electricity by burning coal which pumps harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
He said: “Energy efficient bulbs, such as LEDs, and putting your Christmas lights on a timer are two very easy ways to minimise the amount of electricity you use to power your lights.”
He said the nation’s electricity came from “centralised carbon intensive, coal-based power stations” which were responsible for emitting over one third of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Dr Platt added: “For a zero-emission Christmas light show, you may consider using solar powered lights or sourcing your electricity from verified green power suppliers.”
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Solar-powered C hristmas lights – that only work during daylight hours. That should make for an impressive light show. Don’t these people ever get tired of guilt-trips?
Sigh………I guess methane-spewing Reindeer wil be banned from pulling Santa’s sleigh next. In the end – we are not supposed to use anything to light or warm ourselves, just huddle and blink at the stars wondering what the bright lights in the heavens might be. The shame of these people knows no bounds……..
In whose lifetime will this madness end?
Interesting to note that the lights track very closely to development, average prosperity, and probably human longevity…
I.e not too many lights on in Zimbabwe…
Hang on a second – isn’t that also correlated to CO2 production…
And we are being told to shut CO2 down.
Personally all those lights are a beautiful sight.
Well, as W. C. Fields once said: “Give him an evasive answer…”
I use nothing but hybrid reindeer and green Christmas trees.
I put those 4.8W LED strings on my tree this year. All told maybe 12 strings for 50 or so Watts .. my TV draws more than that .. practically anything else in my house draws more than that.
What happens to the Pacific and Alaska at night? Things must be worse than we thought! Merry Christmas all, may the GW not get too deep, stay warm and safe.
WTF?! It snowed before I could get my Christmas lights up! lol!
Now if I had got those energy efficient festive bulbs none of this would of happened, curses, I’ve spoiled christmas. 🙁
Oh but on the bright side(hehehohoho), I hear a polar bear was doing his green part and ate one of those pesky CO2 producers, snowmobile and all.
( I heard it tasted a lot like Ribbon seal with a slight hint of Anwar! :p)
All the best to you on this merry global catastrophe and have a happy warming new years! 🙂
We have found Scrooge and he is on a green crusade.
Bah! Humbug!
“verified green power suppliers”… they’ll give you a really good deal. Not.
How about we take the five billion or so in grant money that’s been given to researchers who are desperately trying to prove the “un-debatable” (although frankly shoddy and shaky) alleged science of anthropogenic global warming, and hand it over to real scientists to research nuclear fusion? Whilst they’re getting some real answers to the thorny problem of sustainable energy, the rest of us can lay in supplies in case(?!) the weather/climate continues to turn cold and nasty. Just a thought. Probably not the most popular of ideas…
Here’s another thought: when nuclear fusion is a reality (which it surely will be one day), we can turn on our ultra-efficient LED Christmas lights, sit around the fire whilst the cold winter winds blow around our superbly-insulated houses, and reminisce about the days when so many megawatts of energy were wasted arguing with the AGW zealots. Pass the eggnogg!
“SCIENTISTS have warned that Christmas lights are bad for the planet due to huge electricity waste and urged people to get energy efficient festive bulbs.”
…and they want us to use plug-in electric cars…?
Must be grant application time again.
Oh give me a break. There are a lot more Kwh to be conserved by dealing with excessive outdoor lighting, especially all the light wasted that shines upward. Given the typical ground albedo (about 19%), much of the light in your photo above is from light nighttime lighting that lights the sky, not the ground. The grinches at CSIRO are barking up the wrong tree.
http://www.darksky.org/
And how about this one from the Australian ABC:
Festive feasts ‘contributing to climage change’
Leftover food rotting in landfill sites will add to greenhouse gases…
So after you’ve turned your Christmas tree lights off, you can sit in the dark and eat a Mars bar instead. Yep, we sure know how to enjoy ourselves Down Under!
Best wishes to WUWT for a well-lit and well-fed Christmas.
Simon from Sydney
Australian Climate Madness
Quick point the picture you are showing is GREATLY ENHANCED picture. In reality from that distance NONE of the lights shown would be visible.
Another giant leap in exaggeration, but just a small propaganda step for NASA.
Perhaps we could have christmas lights powered by wind farms. OOPs that would only be 20% of the time and who knows when.
Pipers Creek Australia
Enhanced? Nah! Didn’t you know the ocean was filled with bioluminescent plankton? Look at that ocean glow! This must be our fault somehow.
Jim B Canada (00:01:08) :
Not only is the photo highly enhanced, it also indicates the sun appears to have gone out completely.
So it definitley can’t be a factor in global warming.
Another NASA first!
The Australian CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific Research Organisation) was once a very well respected Government financed institution.
The finance has been gradually reduced for years and years, During the funding reducing periods many employees and researchers were fearful of their livelihood.
And then came AGW and a new lease of life.
There are some very committed researchers and scientists at the CSIRO – and you can take that to mean ambiguity
This poster must disclose that he has done contractual work for the CSIRO in the past (administrative and facility works and not scientific)
Les Francis (01:21:15) “The Australian CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific Research Organisation) was once a very well respected Government financed institution….”
Well respected, and a source of pride and inspirtation to many generations of we Australians.
Now, this story… Aargh… it brings me feelings only of anger and shame.
Forgive me father for I’ve sinned…
Anyways – to compensate the “unnecessary” CO2 I’m causing during X-mas, I’ve decided to hold my breath occasionally, sing as well as fart less during the holidays – I hope that’ll do…
And if not – well, I guess I’ll just burn in the hell fire of global “warming” then…
We need first to care for the poor, not pad the pockets of demagogues. Carbon dioxide is essential for plant growth. The increase in CO2 from burning fossil fuels will strongly help developing countries grow the enough food for their growing populations. Global temperatures have been declining for the last decade even while CO2 rises. Annual days without sunspots are the second highest since 1900, suggestion decades of colder weather. More people die from cold than from heat. So with the shepherds, lets celebrate Christmas.
This is way OT, but will likely get a thread:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/23/tennessee.sludge.spill/index.html
Bet this one has legs.
JimB
As Darell Huff once said, “A difference is only a difference when it makes a difference”. I wish people would remember that.
Rich
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/23/tennessee.sludge.spill/index.html
How inconvenient – wasn’t Al Gore Sr. a “coal-igarch” as well as from Tennesse?