Earth Hour has come and gone in California (8:30 to 9:30 PM PDT) for 2010 without so much as a blip. In fact the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) power usage graph looks much like last year when there was also no discernible difference.
Using the graph provided by CAISO, here’s what Earth Hour 2010 looked like in California, can you spot where everybody turned off their lights?
FYI CAISO says on the graph page that: Sudden spikes in resource curve graph may indicate false data briefly reported by system
Here’s what Earth Hour in California looked like in 2009:
Note the the drop in power you see just prior to Earth Hour is normal. As proof, have a look at the Sunday after Earth Hour from last year:
Some said last year that Earth Hour made a difference. Well Treehugger doesn’t know how to read the graph, and assumes the drop they saw was not business as usual. See that little blip around 0700 on all three graphs? That’s the signature of streetlights all around California automatically shutting off because the photocells get enough light:
From the NOAA sunrise/sunset calculator, San Francisco sunrise on March 27th is: 7:02AM PDT. In Southern California, Los Angeles has a sunrise time of 6:47AM, which is why the “streetlights off” power drop is gradual for about 30 minutes starting before 0700 on the graphs.
If there was a big effect from Earth Hour, you’d see a step event like the street lights at 7AM as everybody turned off their home lights in California at 8:30PM (2030). Plus, the greens don’t seem to realize that no power plants get switched off, so there’s really no CO2 savings. The power plants are run based on demand forecast. Short term spikes from well intentioned stunts really don’t make a blip of difference to CO2 emissions.
Earth Hour is a failure in California and according to Richard North at the EU Referendum, a failure in Britain too.
Feel free to post any power use graphs from other parts of the world in comments.
From commenter Bahumbug in the previous thread:
Here is a wonderful short article by Ross McKitrick regards Earth Hour via Donna Laframboise at nofrakkingconsensus
“The whole mentality around Earth Hour demonizes electricity. I cannot do that, instead I celebrate it and all that it has provided for humanity…. It invites people to become sanctimonious do-gooders by turning off trivial appliances for a trivial amount of time, in service of some ill-understood abstract concept of “the Earth,” all the while hypocritically retaining the real benefits of electricity.
…….
I don’t want to go back to nature. Haiti just went back to nature. For humans, living in “Nature” meant a short life span marked by violence, disease and ignorance. People who work to end poverty and disease are fighting against nature. I hope they leave their lights on.
……
…through the use of pollution control technology and advanced engineering, our air quality has dramatically improved since the 1960s despite the expansion of industry and the power supply. If, after all this, we are going to take the view that the remaining air emissions outweigh all the benefits of electricity, and that we ought to be shamed into sitting in darkness for an hour, like naughty children who have been caught doing something bad, then we are setting up unspoiled nature as an absolute, transcendent ideal that obliterates all other ethical and humane obligations. No thanks. I like visiting nature but I don’t want to live there, and I refuse to accept the idea that civilization is something to be ashamed of.
Ross McKitrick
Full article in pdf (single page) here
WWF would be better off preaching year round energy conservation than publicity stunts, but unfortunately publicity stunts are what wow the gullible and fill the till.
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Earth Hour? What was Earth Hour? What did I miss? Oh, that — it was nothing.
Mark (08:41:21) : “Too bad Anthony does not bother to live in his own community, rather than this cyber community, because if he talked to his neighbors, he might know why they were turning off their lights in Chico.”
————-
At one time academia was the preserve of gentlemen (of both sexes): I guess the 1960s put paid to that.
“PResumably the motorcycle had a headlight. So why would streetlights have made a difference?”
If you have driven a car in pitch dark, you know it makes a difference. Pedestrians with dark clothing etc. may be almost impossible to see before it’s too late. In such case streetlights make an enormous difference. Especially if you’re in a familiar neighborhood and don’t expect parts of it being darkened out.
“Your claim rests on the assumption that lights are an idiot-proof safety device.”
Not really, it rests on the assumption that suddenly turning lights off is bound to increase accidents. According to what I read, darkness was the only obvious factor contributing to the accident. It may also directly explain why the elderly man was on the road instead of sidewalk. Nighttime traffic accident rates are several-fold in areas without streetlights. I suspect that’s mainly because in the dark you can’t see so well. It’s not climate science.
Hmmm…Mark appears to be in the “anger-bargaining” stage.
@Mark
‘So, while he is well versed in the IPCC, he is clueless on CHICO and his neighbors, hence, my disgust.’
Even if that would be true, how much fun is it in caring for self proclaimed important and pompous people who only care for themselves in their own little world safely inside a white picketed fence?
Mark (12:04:39) :
“Fact: If you were the least bit involved in the town where you live, you would have known that Earth Hour efforts in Chico were about energy awareness, not energy savings.”
======
ENERGY AWARENESS???
What is that supposed to mean?
My utility bill raises my awareness every month, I pay it and resolve to commit to ENERGY SAVINGS in the future.
What more do you want?
It’s all you’re gonna get, without a fight.
Mark,
If you have even a half inch of spine left in you… you will apologize to Mr. Watts. Anthony is the embodiment of integrity, as anyone with an ounce of understanding knows. I don’t know you, but I am hoping that you will prove yourself human with a few words of apology.
Mike Bryant
REPLY: Mike, thanks but he doesn’t need to apologize. He came here and voiced his opinion, boorish as it may be, and even put his name to it. If he takes it to a higher level, like writes a letter to the editor, then I’ll ask for an apology. – Anthony
I live in a rural area where there are no streetlights. It’s a matter of not being an idiot, really. And it sounds like there were two idiots involved. The man for walking in the street in the dark, and the motorcycle driver for not being alert enough.
I’m still not sure why the old man would be walking in the street because the lights were out, that part of your argument doesn’t make sense. It sounds like he was an accident waiting to happen.
I’m pretty sure he already knows why. Sheep do what they’re told.
Per Reply from Anthony in kadaka (11:16:55) :
Upper range loss seems quite common, my father had that. He blamed too much shooting when younger, but I was down at the plant where he worked a few times and the loud mechanical din convinced me otherwise. Although that just happened to also be in mom’s “normal” frequency range…
After retiring, he could follow things well enough. Then I became the “translator” who’d repeat things in a lower range, like at a doctor’s office when female nurses and doctors were talking to him. Then he… wasn’t processing info like he used to.
So I got him a Walker’s Game Ear. They’re basically a generic behind-the-ear hearing aid, set to selectively amplify the upper range (self-adjustable frequency range models available), using a modified foam earplug instead of a custom-fit ear piece, said fitting apparently being where a good chunk of the cost of a traditional hearing aid comes from. The batteries turned out to be a standard hearing aid model as well.
The difference was profound. For the first time in ages, he could understand without prompting. It worked good on our outings for about a year, until he started fiddling with it too much and it made more sense for me to go back to translating.
If there is anyone here with an upper range loss who fears the cost of a regular aid and is not that vain, I heartily recommend you try one out. The price is very reasonable. The foam earplug helps make them compatible with gunfire, as it’s a normal sound-reducing one with the aid’s sound tube run through it, the sound going in around the tube is limited. If you’ll be avoiding loud noises, you or someone else could fabricate a less-obvious in-the-ear part that incorporates the tube.
BTW, FWIW, I’m not a totally anonymous poster, as my initials are “spaced out” in my handle. But since I’ve seen my initials used by others in both upper and lower case, as well as my first name by more than one other poster, I’ll stick with what I’ve been doing for now.
The BBC has a photo series contrasting lights out/lights on for some landmark buildings. Actually, nice photos.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8590756.stm
Both ends of DST in California:
http://www.robertb.darkhorizons.org/TempGr/Dst2009_2010.GIF
Despite all the reasons offered to make people feel good for the senseless disruption to thier lives, nothing tangible is gained in the scope of things.
At least not any energy savings in California.
Earth Hour is in the same boat.
The intent is good. There is nothing wrong with conserving energy/saving money.
The vehicle/means to achieve is hopeless, and the data shows it.
And before anyone gets the wrong idea, sending the entire state back into the 1890’s via ‘shut the system down’ is no more of a viable option than is the stupidity of Daylight Saving Time.
At least one state, Arizona, has bothered to understand and do something about it. They dumped DST.
Now, how’s about a poll:
Is the extra hour in the evening worth the disruption of DST?
Chico State University
Sounds more like Groucho State.
That’s mostly true because the heavy industry went somewhere else. Now those places are heavily polluted. But, since they’re mostly third world countries, no one really cares.
The air when entering the Chicago area was visibly Green not too long ago (late 80s). I can’t decide if I like it (cleaner air) or don’t (missing moderate to low skill jobs).
rbateman (03:52:16) :
“In California, there was a call a long time ago for consumers to conserve. And we obliged them. Time and again, they asked, and Californians anwered the call.
Left ou[t] of those requests were Big Business and Utility.
They don’t march to anyone’s drumbeat, green or otherwise.”
Actually, big business (chemicals and refining) did a massive conservation program about 30 years ago per a Federal mandate, following the oil price increases from OPEC in the 70’s. I was a part of that effort in the oil refining business, and we achieved more than the mandated savings. I believe the Federal mandate was for 25 percent less energy consumption per unit of production, and the industry achieved a bit more than 30 percent.
However, energy conservation is not sustainable (read: ongoing job provider), as I wrote here:
http://sowellslawblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/energy-conservation-is-not-sustainable.html
Mark (12:04:39) : “Either way, you are no longer an active citizen in Chico, but I still have to see your pandering ridicule on Norcal Blogs.
Fact: If you were the least bit involved in the town where you live, you would have known that Earth Hour efforts in Chico were about energy awareness, not energy savings.”
Geez-us.
This guy sounds like he would be more at home in Beijing or maybe even North Korea….where citizens helps root out other “citizens” who do not pull the party line of the state.
Remind me not to live in his community.
True to form though, Anthony, being the fair man he is, lets anyone post their mind on here…with the idea that reasonable people will see right through the chaff, the misinformation, and the “trollege”.
Next!
Chris
Norfolk, VA, USA
Mark. What an appropriate name.
Well enough of the invective. Until the next sentence.
Does your College (would that be Chico, Groucho, or Harpo?) have an IEC Fusion Program? Us rubes (fair is fair) in the Midwest have two of them. U. Wisconsin (Madison) and U. Illinois Champaign. Lots of work being done and progress being made at a fraction of the cost of ITER.
In fact a program could be started for less than the cost of a professor. With all off the shelf parts an IEC device could be built for $100K – instrumentation extra.
The IEC folks have yearly conferences. The last one in Madison at UW.
http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/iec2009/agenda
”””’REPLY: I’m not at the point yet where I need a cochlear implant, I still have about 20% of hearing left mostly low frequency, compensated with some of the best hearing aids on the planet that have computer real-time processing built in (Germanium IC’s no less! due to 1.5 volt power source, silicon’s 0.7 volt diode loss makes it impractical). Cochlear implant right now would be worse than I have. – Anthony”””’
Anthony,
I am near the threshold of needing hearing enhancement (sounds better than ‘aid’). My wife points out to me that i’m way past the threshold, but . . . . it has a self image hangup thing.
Do you have any recommendations on devices?
John
savethesharks (17:21:38) :
Earth Hour is aimless awareness.
Unless it is attached to efforts to cut back/economize on the hardwired portion of a community grid, as in Flagstaff AZ and another in Colorado, there is nothing besides the feel-good hour lost in a sea of megawatts.
rbateman (16:57:44) :
My vote in the poll. DST is worthless. Just another way to control.
Chris
Norfolk, VA, USA
savethesharks (17:21:38),
Exactly right, Mark Stemen trolled and disappeared.
I would like to invite Mr Stemen back, so I can give him my personal response to:
“I am Mark Stemen and I approve of this message.”
Could he be any more insufferable? Being a college professor feeding off the public probably explains his attitude toward people who work for a living.
I found Stemen’s picture. He’s one of the ones to the right of the taxpayer: [snip – Smokey, that’s unfair – Anthony]
Here’s a truly relevant photo of Dr. Stemen in front of a solar power array: http://www.greatvalley.org/energy/docs/article1_files/cover-3.jpe
Roger Sowell (17:08:29) :
Great. Let’s include the glare induced by overlighting since then, along with all the household items big business has contrived to sell that are ‘always on’.
The consumer is at the mercy of utility and product design.
And, on the other end of the spectrum, we can say that endless expansion of lighting and devices sold to consumers is likewise not sustainable.
Question: Will Utility and Manufacturing listen to the call to reduce the hardwired 80% of demand?
And an even tougher question: WIll Utility, if in fact it cuts back on the hardwired portion, resist the temptation to raise rates to make up for the shortfall in sales that will surely follow?
Mark (11:23:41) :
WUWT started as a scientific analysis of weather stations but it has become an entertainment blog with a bunch of climatic ditto-heads.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
So you’ve gone from just insulting, below the belt shots at Anthony to doing the same to the commenters.
I think you are unaware the impact of this blog. And not all commenters agree with Anthony. He clearly allows opposing views here.
You must not read this blog much.
Rebecca C (06:44:42) :
Looking at all these power generation charts over the past 24 hours, it’s striking that on average over the course of a day, the available megawatts exceed the expected usage by an average of 40% or so. The greatest gains in energy efficiency would seem to come from tightening that gap (without, of course, running into brownouts). You’d think the power companies would be all over that, since it would save them tons of money.
One little problem with that. If supply EVER falls below demand – no one gets any power and restarting the grid is REALLY expensive.
You NEVER want to operate the grid too close to the margin. 40% extra is comfortable. 100% extra is probably excessive. 20% is cutting it close. A supply disruption (they happen) could shut everything down.
Mark (11:23:41) :
Again, I have to ask why are you so desperate? You must be feeling terrible disappointment over the failure of Earth Hour in California last night. And maybe ClimateGate is eating at you. And maybe you see all the ‘-gates’ pulling ‘global warming’ down. Or is it something else?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Your comments remind me of this from Melville:
“To the last, I grapple with thee;
From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee;
For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee.”
~~Herman Melville
REPLY: Thanks, but I wouldn’t be quite so dramatic. He’s just a local professor that PO’d at my blog feed showing up in the opinion section of the local newspaper and made a few badly chosen statements in haste he couldn’t back up with facts. -Anthony