Earth Hour Take 2

[FurnaceFace]

I'll do my part. I'll watch the game on the peasant vision TV for that hour instead of the energy sucking HD digital box and plasma tv. I'll even watch it with the lights off.

It seems to me this event is more about the concept rather than the actual act. We can all probably do something in the house that will help energy consumption permanently. Just switching as many lights as possible to CFL bulbs I'd wager is far more energy saving than turning everything off for an hour.

[PsYcNeT]

I just think all consumer action in the way of conservation is ridiculous. We do not cause pollution or energy wastage. Uncontrolled industry in developing countries is responsible for 70% of this garbage (China, India, Pakistan, etc.)

[old-fart]

I'm going to sit in my hot tub, listening to music, while I leave my tv on pvr'ing the game... maybe heat some nachos up in the oven while my beer chills...

Of course, I'll have multiple computers on all over my house as well, and I'm sure more than my fair share of lights.

Next year though... I commit to farting less.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I do my part by not putting up Christmas lights on my house. Well, the biggest and only reason is because I am too damn lazy

Brother, is that you?

[Resolute 14]

IMO, things like this harm the environmentalist cause far more than they help it. Stuff like this has no real impact on our environment or energy usage, but people who fall for it gain the illusion that they are doing something positive for the environment, which more than likely will cause them to be less focused on things that can make a difference.

I hope our usage goes up again this year. I'm proud of our accomplishment from last year.

[rubecube]

I can wait until 100 years from now when articles will be written about those maroons a century ago who thought turning their lights off at the same time for an hour was going to somehow going to affect something.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I just think all consumer action in the way of conservation is ridiculous. We do not cause pollution or energy wastage. Uncontrolled industry in developing countries is responsible for 70% of this garbage (China, India, Pakistan, etc.)

The problem with that line of thinking is that there was a time when the US and Canada were both developing nations. One of the biggest seasonal forests to ever exist used to be in what is now the United States... now its virtually gone... who are we to tell developing countries that they need to stop cutting down trees when we did exactly the same thing in the past?

More on topic and not directed at the quoted poster:

I think many people are missing the bigger picture... earth hour is not about saving energy during that 1 hour, its about raising awareness on energy consumption. Do you think there is no one out of the thousands of people that promote this event don't realize that 1 hour of energy savings is sort of insignificant? The attitude of some in this thread is very condescending.

[Eric Vail]

CalgaryPuck sinks to another low.

A symbolic effort is made to help the enviroment and almost all the posters can do is crap on it.

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

CalgaryPuck sinks to another low.

A symbolic effort is made to help the enviroment and almost all the posters can do is crap on it.

If this event is about creating awareness, then any publicity is good.


That said, this was a stupid idea the first year, and even worse this time around.

[LIP MAN]

This is the response I was expecting on here. I even called the lambasting of the first poster to comment on Calgary being behind on it's recycling program. In my head.

[metallicat]

I subconciously participated last night, by watching a movie in total darkness. I didn't do it with any thought towards earth hour.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

CalgaryPuck sinks to another low.

A symbolic effort is made to help the enviroment and almost all the posters can do is crap on it.

You hit it right on the head, it's symbolic, it doesn't actually do anything to help with the problem. Wouldn't we be better off using our time to do something which makes a tangible difference?

[Clarkey]

Originally Posted by old-fart

Next year though... I commit to farting less.

That's awesome, I'm going to use this line.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

CalgaryPuck sinks to another low.

A symbolic effort is made to help the enviroment and almost all the posters can do is crap on it.

That's the problem with the majority of "environmentalists" out there. They think crap like this is all it takes. How many acts of symbolism do we need? Do something tangible with your time instead of just talking about how much awareness you've raised. This was just an hour where people could pat themselves on the back and say "Well at least I helped raise awareness," while they hop into their big gas-guzzling SUV. It's not like global warming and the whole "green" movement is a little known organization/cause that needs a boost in awareness.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

CalgaryPuck sinks to another low.

A symbolic effort is made to help the enviroment and almost all the posters can do is crap on it.

I don't know about you, but I find tangible efforts to be far more useful than symbolic efforts. As I said, useless events like this do not improve anything. There are tangible ways to both raise awareness and do some good. Go read up on Airdrie's garbage limitation laws and the recycling program that accompanies it, for example.

[4X4]

As a symbolic effort to help save the oceans, I think we should pull all boats out of the water for an hour.

[Kybosh]

I did my part by coming home and passing out in my living room with all the lights on and the TV blaring for about 6 hours. Good times.

[St Loomis]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I just think all consumer action in the way of conservation is ridiculous. We do not cause pollution or energy wastage. Uncontrolled industry in developing countries is responsible for 70% of this garbage (China, India, Pakistan, etc.)

Earth Hour aside...this is the most ridiculous post I have read in a long while on here.

Why do you think those developing countries produce that much waste? To fill the demand for cheap manufactured goods in the developed world (ie Canada). Anyone who thinks that our society is not equally if not more responsible for the waste produced by LDCs is just fooling themselves. Mass consumption is to blame, not the countries you mentioned.

[Swarly]

Originally Posted by Dan02

You hit it right on the head, it's symbolic, it doesn't actually do anything to help with the problem. Wouldn't we be better off using our time to do something which makes a tangible difference?

absolutely not, we're much better off sitting around in the dark for an hour with our thumbs up our asses. what could possible be more effective at saving the earth than that?

[Winsor_Pilates]

They turned the lights off on the Lions Gate bridge here is Van. How the F is turning the lights off on a major dangerous bridge doing anything good??

Lets sacrifice peoples safety to make a statement and raise awareness!!