One hour, America. Earth Hour. Turn out for Earth Hour! What will you do when the lights are off?

[babsbunny]

http://www4.earthhourus.org/

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

[flvegan]

1. Sat, 8pm Cops will be on.

I'll have Cops on, and my tv will provide enough light for the house. No problem.

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you, bad boys bad boys...

Just kidding.

[azmouse]

2. Nothing. I'm not participating.

I've gotten my electrical usage down over 5% from this time last year. I think that is more important than what happens on one night.

[gateley]

3. Recommend!

Looking forward to it!

I'm a little disappointed that only 250,000 or so have signed on thus far. Over 2,000,000 people participated in Australia last year. They, as a country, really promoted it though.

[sandnsea]

5. I think we have surge type questions

Our grid is kind of old. I don't know that it could take this kind of event. :shrug:

[superkia]

35. If enough people stay home instead of going out and they all...

flick the switches at 9p.m. I could see that as an issue also. I replied in another thread that if we caused a blackout, the media would have to cover the event then.

[sandnsea]

36. lol, okay, that's a good point

I'm in!

[Warpy]

7. I tuned in to get the weather this noon

and the local station mentioned it. The joker was snickering, but at least he bothered to give it a mention, which is more than the corporate whores on national news can be expected to do.

My lights will be out but the puter will probably be in use. It's either that or try to spin or knit for an hour by Braille. Or take drugs and go to bed early.

[Hannah Bell]

11. Do you think it could be because it's a totally symbolic gesture,

leading to nothing?

I could see it if it got the people involved interacting with each other, or if it was used to strike the power plants or boycott the oil moguls, or force the us to change cafe standards - but its the equivalent of a car magnet.

Enough with oprah-style symbolism.

[gateley]

14. Check out the link in the OP.

It was a big deal in Australia last year. Watching the coverage, I felt like it was a sincere effort of the people to make a statement. I think because of that, and all the people involved, it couldn't help but create an AWARENESS of what we can do on a more consistent basis.

I was thinking it would be really cool if the country (ours) promoted it as a monthly effort, and pretty soon we would become used to a quiet, dark, peaceful hour once a month. The cities participating are turning off many of their lights too.

Sometimes maybe the oprah-style symbolism can lead to something beneficial. Just do it tomorrow. Wouldn't you feel good about yourself?

EDIT: Hannah Bell! I checked and you're in Seattle! We are pioneers in environmental action! Years ago when my brother would come up to visit from California, he'd give me grief about recycling (Seattle was a pilot city) and I'd say "you can thank me when your daughter grows up and doesn't have to build a house on top of a landfill". Now it's a national program and it's become a way of life for millions of people. Here's Seattle's notice which I sent to my family in Seattle yesterday.


NEWS ADVISORY

SUBJECT: Seattle Turns off the Lights To Fight Global Warming
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
3/27/2008 11:20:00 AM
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Martin McOmber [phone]
Seattle Turns off the Lights To Fight Global Warming
Cities worldwide flip the switch at the same time on March 29

SEATTLE - Mayor Greg Nickels announced today the city of Seattle will participate in Earth Hour this Saturday, joining dozens of cities across the globe that are encouraging people to turn off the lights and consider the small steps that can reduce climate pollution.

On Saturday, March 29, from 8 to 9 p.m., Seattle City Hall will go dark, along with the Seattle Municipal Tower, the Central Library and Seattle Justice Center, except for those areas that must remain illuminated for emergency and public safety reasons.

Lights at city parks and community centers will also be turned off except for outdoor safety lighting and where there is a previously scheduled event. All ballfield lights will be turned off. The city’s 18 tennis courts are on a push button switch, which will remain active. The Seattle Center’s arts venues that are hosting events that evening will not participate. In partnership with the city, radio station AM1090 is encouraging all its listeners to participate in earth hour.

“By turning off nonessential city lights for an hour, we are joining the millions of people across the world who share our concerns about climate change,” said Nickels. “If habits start with a single act, then an hour without lights may turn into a year of lower electricity bills and greater awareness about global warming.”

Dozens of cities will participate in Earth Hour by turning off lights at 8 p.m. Organized by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour began in Syndey, Australia, on March 31, 2007. For one hour, more than 2.2 million Sydney residents and 2,100 businesses switched off their lights, leading to a 10.2 percent energy reduction across the city.

Visit the mayor’s web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor’s inside view on efforts to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm.

[Hannah Bell]

16. no, i wouldn't feel good about myself.

symbolic gestures are a waste of time, $ & effort, distractions.

& apparently most of last years' participants agree. nothing came of it.

nothing personal.

[gateley]

17. I edited my initial response to you to

try to shame you because you're in Seattle! :7

When I lived there I was always proud of being in the forefront of environmental awareness.

It will make ME more aware and make me feel as though I'm participating with others around the WORLD who CARE.

But that's just me.

Hey! I heard it was snowing there today -- any more expected tonight?

[Hannah Bell]

19. i'm not in seattle, but it did snow. briefly.

supposed to be more, maybe.

[BlueJazz]

4. ...And you want me to miss a good rerun of "Three's Company" ??

What am I suppose to do during this hour without my TV?

Sorry..you have crossed the line and ask to much....

[gateley]

6. Buck up and Step away from the TV. nt

[orleans]

30. take a warm bath with some candles! n/t

[bbinacan]

8. Sorry, can't do it.

NCAA tournament and my alma mater UNC is playing in the Sweet 16. GO HEELS!!!!!!

[0007]

9. Ask big brother

[peacefreak]

10. Fill the bathtub at about 7:55

light a candle, pour a Jameson & listen to the local Blues station on the battery operated radio.

[gateley]

18. VERY good suggestion!

[muriel_volestrangler]

42. Let's analyse that suggestion:

Fill the bathtub: say 60 litres of water heated by 20 degrees centigrade (perhaps more at the start, but say that's the temperature difference when you chuck the water away down the plughole) = 4200 * 60 * 20 = 5 million joules of energy = 1.4 kWh. If you burn fossil fuel for the heating, and compare that to burning fossil fuel in a 40% efficient power station for electricity, that's the equivalent of 0.4 * 1.4 kWh = 560 Wh. Or worse than turning on 5 100W incandescent bulbs specially for the hour.

Light a candle: a single candle produces roughly the same amount of CO2 as a 20W CFL bulb. See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3247617&mesg_id=3248884

Jameson whiskey: I can't quantify what's involved in that. Spirits don't involve lugging lots of water around the world, so it's probably a good drink to choose :D

Battery operated radio: less efficient than a mains operated one. Even rechargeable batteries lose some energy during the charging process.

[rhett o rick]

12. 8 pm in which time zone???????????? nm

[Der Blaue Engel]

13. Any

We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time)....

[FatDave]

32. Well that's kinda lame.

I mean, wouldn't it be cooler if everyone in the world (or at least the country) had their lights out for the same hour?

[rhett o rick]

34. That's what I was thinking. I read an article some where that said that 9:00 GMT was the

time for the blackout.

[dysfunctional press]

39. how about 1am pacific time?

works for me.

[cynatnite]

15. Haven't decided. Depends on how warm it gets n/t

[Lex]

20. DU'ers in this thread doing it too:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3071458&mesg_id=3071458

[gateley]

21. Oops -- forgot to recommend -- Thanks again!! nt

[Lex]

25. Me too.

:hi:

[MrSlayer]

22. I'll be at work, can't turn out the lights.

Actually, I could shut the lights off on my construction site, being an electrician and all, but I doubt that would go over well with the GC.

[gateley]

23. You Tube Video --

And please recommend if you're so inclined so as many as possible can see this. Mother Earth thanks you! :hug:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=111656&mesg_id=111656

[bdamomma]

24. I will participate.

[Forkboy]

26. It'll be perfect for sex. I just hope someone else shows up.

:)

[gateley]

27. ....

:rofl:

[Emit]

28. ...

:)

[Emit]

29. Google has gone dark

http://www.google.com/

[orleans]

31. ahhhh.....

Google users in the United States will notice today that we "turned the lights out" on the Google.com homepage as a gesture to raise awareness of a worldwide energy conservation effort called Earth Hour. As to why we don't do this permanently - it saves no energy; modern displays use the same amount of power regardless of what they display. However, you can do something to reduce the energy consumption of your home PC by joining the Climate Savers Computing Initiative.

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.

Given our company's commitment to environmental awareness and energy efficiency, we strongly support the Earth Hour campaign, and have darkened our homepage today to help spread awareness of what we hope will be a highly successful global event.

[Orsino]

33. Another long walk around the lake.

It was awesome last night. Tonight, we may drag a doggie along.

[taterguy]

37. Go for a drive

Oh wait, that might defeat the purpose of it.

Maybe it'll be ok if I drive without lights on in my car.

[dysfunctional press]

38. i guess i'll be watching tv by candlelight.

nt

[DesertRat]

40. 10 minutes to go out west

We're ready. The candles are lit.

:kick:

[roody]

41. I have a solar array that generates the amount

of electricity that I use, but the sun is not shining at 8:00. Fortunately I participated, since I was not home and all lights and electronics were turned off.