Earth Hour hopes to shed light on climate
So are the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza and many other iconic structures.
The lights will be going out for Earth Hour, organized by the World Wildlife Fund to draw attention to global warming, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday local time around the world. That’s when organizers of the event, which began in Sydney in 2007, want everyone to turn off non-essential lights.
About 2,800 cities in 83 countries — including 250 in the United States — had signed up, according to Dan Forman, a spokesman for World Wildlife Fund, an international conservation organization that boasts 1.2 million national members and close to 5 million globally.
Forman said organizers want to send a message to Congress and to global leaders working this year on climate change legislation and a treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.
“It’s all about the symbolism,” he said. “We fully recognize that one hour does not put a dent in the climate crisis.”
The effort has its critics.
“We think Earth Hour, even if you are super-concerned about global warming, is a little lame, and we are making fun of it,” said Eli Lehrer, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a Washington, D.C., think tank that supports limited government and decries global warming “alarmism.”
CEI has announced a “Human Achievement Hour” to counter Earth Hour. The group says millions of people will participate by turning the lights on, going to a concert or seeing a movie. “It’s obviously tongue-in-cheek,” Lehrer said.
Many companies, however, are serious in support of Earth Hour, Forman said. Coca-Cola, for example, has pledged to turn off its big signs around the world, including a marquee in New York’s Times Square.
Schools and universities across the country are also participating, including the University of Louisville.
“We are trying to change the cultural attitudes and behavior,” said professor Barbara Burns, chairwoman of the university’s Sustainability Council. “And one of the first steps is awareness.”
Aron (22:35:51) :
I’m 100% with you on this one. I hate waste and unnecesary excess and yes I’d like to see us all do a little more with a bit less – good, old fashioned efficiency.
So I will do very little different to what I usually do. That is, I seem to spend half the evening going round the house switching lights off after the family – empty room with lights on and TV blaring even though person watching has gone out of the house. Sound familiar anyone? Nevermind that electricity prices have gone up so much recently. I’m not fanatical about it, but I switch off and use less when I can – I just hate being told to do it, or that i should do it because of CO2, or the planet.
Oh, and yes, I’d love children to be able to see the Milky Way and stars like I used to as a child, only a few miles from the city.
The high school a block away will not be green today either. Their spring musical “Beauty and the Beast” is again on tonight, and the matinee is going on right now. Ah, the stage light.
Happy Alpha Proxima Day everyone.
Got the heating on, the 40 inch TV on downstairs, Had my HI Fi amp on all day to warm up properly— now blasting Jimi Hendrix through at near concert volume, with awesome Bass which is going through the key board as I type.
I also put by 500W Halogen outside light on so the garden pond and patio areas are nicely lit
I will be thinking about the 1.8 billion people on Earth who have no access to electricity, and how insane they must think we are.
I partied at a well lit friend’s house. It was warm and cozy. Does that count?
Well, well… some minutes ago I broadcasted my radio program. The producer asked me to talk about the “Planet Hour”, that is the “Earth Hour”. I told the News director that I don’t agree with the IPCC politics or its “science”; however, she insisted and I talked on the absurdity of the “Planet Hour” and how the whole thing on climate change is full of lies, imprecision, mad science, etc. Surprisingly, the anchor agreed with my viewpoint!!!
0
Change of plans: I’ll be celebrating Tibet Liberation Day instead of Earth Hour…or else.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/27/china-earth-hour-tibet
“Oh, and yes, I’d love children to be able to see the Milky Way and stars like I used to as a child, only a few miles from the city.”
I don’t mind that starry skies aren’t so visible in the cities. It’s a good excuse to go to the country and mountains where the folk there really could do with some money from visitors. Besides, in Britain we hardly ever get clear skies anyway because of cloud cover so stargazing doesn’t apply much to us 😛
rickM:
Rage! Rage against the hour without light!
CPT, Charles
You asked for something from me on Maurice Strong. For those that don’t know him, he is as influential in the environmental movement as Al Gore, but tends to be an organisation man compared to Al Gore’s media role.
If anyone is interested, I also did a piece on William Connelly-the gatekeeper to the climate pages on Wikipedia -and also on the committee who awarded the Nobel prize to Al Gore.
Link 1 http://www.mauricestrong.net/bio.html
The above is a profile from Maurice Strong’s own web site
Link 2 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122368007369524679.html
the above a very considered piece from the Wall Street journal
Oct 11 2008
Link 3 http://takebackcanada.com/kyotoentity.html
Above about Maurice Strong and his early career-covers more ground than link 2 and is written by one of the same people that wrote next two Canada Free press articles
Link 4 http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/cover031307.htm
The above about Strong’s carbon credit activities with Al Gore
Link 5 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/3618
The one above more specifically on Strong’s politics
Extract:; Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, was the only world leader to openly understand the science and what Strong and his instrument the IPCC were about. He was also immediately aware of communism and recognized what is happening. In a 2008 article for The Australian he wrote,
“I am afraid there are people who want to stop the economic growth, the rise in the standard of living (though not their own) and the ability of man to use the expanding wealth, science and technology for solving the actual pressing problems of mankind, especially of the developing countries. This ambition goes very much against past human experience which has always been connected with a strong motivation to better human conditions. There is no reason to make the change just now, especially with arguments based on such incomplete and faulty science.” (The Australian)
The link above also leads to a whole series of articles about the IPCC/climate change
Link 6 This leads to two articles by the National Post, the first a suggestion by Strong that China be allowed to buy up substantial parts of the US automobile industry
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2009/02/05/maurice-strong-let-china-buy-detroit.aspx
Extract . Encourage and facilitate China to make major investments in General Motors, Ford and Chrysler that would enable them to reconstruct and revitalize their companies on a basis that would ensure their survival and competitiveness, including the use of Chinese components. This would be done through investment by, or joint ventures with, leading Chinese companies.
The U.S. and Canadian markets would be opened on a selective basis to Chinese automobiles, which would be marketed through the General Motors, Ford and Chrysler dealer networks, restoring the viability and profitability of dealerships afflicted by the industry crisis.
Link 7 This next link has a quote from it below
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2008/08/09/chairman-mo-s-fantastic-plan.aspx
Mr. Strong has been described as a “brilliant visionary and a shockingly bad administrator.” The problem is that most of his visions involve administration at a planetary level. His take on history and economic reality is, as usual, sui generis. He suggests that “China has raised more people out of poverty than any nation has ever done.” True, but primarily by abandoning the kinds of government ownership and/or control that Mr. Strong– as a lifelong socialist –has always recommended. Also, when noting China’s turbulent history in the past century, he significantly fails to mention the factor that has cost most in turmoil and lives: Communism.
Hope you enjoyed this CPT, Charles.
TonyB
We spent the day cleaning and prepping our AC units(3 and 5 ton units). Firing them both up full blast at the appointed time to see if all is well. It’s a standard spring thing anyway, so why not join the celebration.
Mick J (06:16:47) :
“I would agree that in general these office blocks with light and the likes of computers on 24/7 is likely simply wasteful and an unnecessary demand on finite resources but the use of or threat of violent tactics in order to impose an ideology is edgy but probably supported in quite a few quarters these days”.
Mick J,
There was a time where office lights were switched off.
Until the bill for crime and vandalism went sky high.
Now they keep the lights on to keep the crooks away.
The Hague, Netherlands remains well lit at 20:40.
Is there another instance of the Gore Effect?
It seems there is a sudden cold wave hitting Europe and the USA starting just today. Cold temperatures in Spain and a blizzard in Texas.
Can anybody confirm this?
Alex (23:03:24) :
Go onto the facebook earth hour page and you will see earth hour mugs, shirts, caps and other “earth friendly” produce for sale! … ‘a portion of the earnings will go toward conservation’ A portion could be 20%, 1% or even 0.99%… the rest?? Into the moneymaker’s pocket of course!
It’s GWeed, pure and simple.
OT:
I just talked with my sister who lives N of Calgary. They still have massive snow cover and the temperatures have been so cold that it is estimated that 95% of the Western Pine Beetle have been destroyed with extended temperatures of -42 C. Of particular interest is that her neighbor who has been putting in his garden on April 1st for the past 25 plus years has had to delay the effort as it is “hard to sow in the snow” !!!!
With the extended SC minimum and reversal of the PDO and enhanced volcanic activity, it looks to be a very late Spring.
It seems there is a sudden cold wave hitting Europe and the USA starting just today. Cold temperatures in Spain and a blizzard in Texas. Can anybody confirm this?
I can only confirm I am colder than I should be for end of March.
“…the event, which began in Sydney in 2007, want everyone to turn off non-essential lights.”
Duh! If they are non-essential, they should already be OUT!
I already do this at home, and often walk around the house and turn off the lights after my children (and wife) walk out of well-lit rooms …
In our case, I’m just trying to save a buck.
Enough is enough already.
Urederra (11:49:03) :
Is there another instance of the Gore Effect?
It seems there is a sudden cold wave hitting Europe and the USA starting just today. Cold temperatures in Spain and a blizzard in Texas.
Can anybody confirm this?
I’m in Monterrey, Mexico; about 124.27 miles from the border with Texas, and yes, we have cold temperatures today and expect cold temperatures tomorrow. Temperature this morning was 50 F (10 C) and we’ll awake tomorrow on similar conditions.
I’ll turn the TV volume down…
Warmer Is Better. Fight the ignorance.
This is a programme I enjoyed a lot and have a copy of. No hysterical mentions of climate change and the popular physicist Professor Brian Cox is seen driving about quite happily in a great Dodge.
Can We Make a Star on Earth?
Professor Brian Cox takes a global journey in search of the energy source of the future. Called nuclear fusion, it is the process that fuels the sun and every other star in the universe. Yet despite over five decades of effort, scientists have been unable to get even a single watt of fusion electricity onto the grid.
Brian returns to Horizon to find out why. Granted extraordinary access to the biggest and most ambitious fusion experiments on the planet, Brian travels to the USA to see a high security fusion bomb testing facility in action and is given a tour of the world’s most powerful laser. In South Korea, he clambers inside the reaction chamber of K-Star, the world’s first super-cooled, super-conducting fusion reactor where the fate of future fusion research will be decided.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hr6bk/Horizon_20082009_Can_We_Make_a_Star_on_Earth/
If non-Brits would like a copy maybe I can upload it to FTP space if someone has one otherwise I’ll try to YouTube it.
Oh yes, will also fire up the BBQ and scorch some prime beef. Still can’t decide if charcoal or propane gives off more CO2.
Urederra (11:49:03) :
“It seems there is a sudden cold wave hitting Europe and the USA starting just today. Cold temperatures in Spain and a blizzard in Texas.
Can anybody confirm this?”
The cold in Texas is the remnant from the weather system that came through California / Oregon / Washington on March 22. That same system is causing major problems in North Dakota with bitter cold while they face flooding.
http://energyguysmusings.blogspot.com/2009/03/late-winter-storms.html
There is yet more snow in the Seattle area today. So much late-season global warming!
The voluntary lights out today will become the mandatory lights out tomorrow as we go into the Algore night—a worldwide Pyongyang.
As for me, I intend to turn on every light inside and outside the house and crank up the stereo. Snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow; hopefully, I can fire up the snowblower too.