When the lights go out

[PantyFanatic]

What are you going to do when the lights go out tomorrow (http://www5.earthhourus.org/) night? :confused:

ARE your lights going to go out? :shrug:

Of all the people that are going to take part in Earth Hour, I'm sure Pixies will not have a problem finding something to do. :brows:

Are you the kind of person that takes part in such a demonstration/statement? If and when you do such things, what is it you hope to truly accomplish? Do you do such things to be a tiny part of something you feel truly will make a difference.

If you are not the type to become part of a wayward heard, even for something you do believe in, is it because you have little faith in it's real effectiveness? Do you have concerns about something but just don't feel it's worth your time to actually be involved some way?

Tell us about your reasons to participate or not to participate in an issue that is beyond your TV or refrigerator. :rolleyes2

[Lilith]

Had not heard a word about it. I'll be at the beach. I can't promise to not run the blender.

[sodaklostsoul]

PF is that 8pm our time?

I'll be locking the door at work and finishing up paperwork.

[Scarecrow]

The only problem with the earth today is over crowding and they will not let me do anything about that :hair:

[PantyFanatic]

The only problem with the earth today is over crowding and they will not let me do anything about that :hair:
You got THAT right!

I DO believe population is the number ONE issue for out specie's survival. Rectify that and over half of all the other problems will disappear and the remaining ones MAY have a chance being addressed. Until then we are just blowing smoke up our own ass. :nod:

[jseal]

“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)–whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.” From the Earth Hour (http://www4.earthhourus.org/) website.

There may be some value in efforts such as this to sensitize society to the problems of global warming. That being said, spectacles like this often (if not usually) serve no purpose other than to make people feel good by showing, and mentioning to others, that they too were politically correct.

Scarecrow and PantyFanatic have identified the root cause of the problem – overpopulation. If you take as given that the passion to reproduce is a reality which has yet to be successfully managed, then the only alternative is to manage the resources consumed. We must either consume more wisely or we must consume less.

With roughly 10 times the population of Kenya, Americans consume more than 300 times more resources than Kenyans do. Think about that this summer when you pay $3.30 (or more) for each gallon of gas you pump into your $15,000 car to drive from your air conditioned home to your air conditioned work. You will also, if the statistics are accurate and you are normal, likely be participating in the obesity epidemic which has missed a few billion people in the “less developed” countries.

To actually do enough to cause useful change, a rather small fraction of the world population – primarily North Americans and Western Europeans – need to change an awful lot.

Turning off the lights for an hour is not an awful lot.

[sodaklostsoul]

There are plenty of times we sit in the dark and watch tv or even in the computer room.

[Pita]

This is the first I've heard of it. Can't say what I'll being doing at 8pm, but I'll do my damnedest to get my Sweetie to come play mattress tag in the glow of twilight.

The kid is passionate about a lot of causes but getting her to shut down her computer might take a miracle.

I'm not much of an activist, but I do respect those that participate in movements they feel passionate about. I bought my Joe The "Planet Earth" DVD's for Christmas and this planet is so amazing and beautiful. It would be good if we could find better ways to stop mucking it all up. :nod:

[osuche]

I re-wired our party plans to have dinner at 7 pm, followed by a small fire on the beach plus stargazing at 8 pm. I suggested that no batteries would be included in that portion of the event.

We're having between 7 10 people over tonight, so I guess we'll make a (very small) impact.

[scotzoidman]

Shit, I heard about it earlier, but forgot about it when the time came...

I would agree, it's mostly just a symbolic move...maybe if we all just made a little effort to do what our fathers always told us to do, &

Turn the damn lights off when we leave the room!?!?!?

[LixyChick]

Much ado about nuthin!

YOU TRY GETTING MY MOTHER-IN-LAW (Mr. Lixy's mom...not his stepmom) TO TURN OFF ANYTHING FOR THE GOOD OF A CAUSE AND I'LL EAT...I'LL EAT...UM...ANY DAMN THING YOU PUT IN FRONT OF ME!

*throws arms up in utter frustration*

[musicman]

YOU TRY GETTING MY MOTHER-IN-LAW (Mr. Lixy's mom...not his stepmom) TO TURN OFF ANYTHING FOR THE GOOD OF A CAUSE AND I'LL EAT...I'LL EAT...UM...ANY DAMN THING YOU PUT IN FRONT OF ME!

I'm game...where do I sign up for this one?

As for Earth Hour, we were out for dinner, left all the lights off at home, even shut down the computer....

The restaurant we were at dimmed the lights at a little after 8pm to try and do their part....

Ironically, if we all just payed a little more attention as it was noted earlier in the thread, and shut things off when you leave a room, things would get better.

The sad part is, you look at the downtown's of most major cities, and there are lights on in buildings where there aren't even people.....and think, just think, that if those places shut their lights off each night, how much we could all save on our electricity bills but how much better off the earth would be....

[PantyFanatic]

Maybe it did manage to accomplish a bit more than we first thought if it only made us conscious of the underused light switch. The standard problem there is these thoughts a normally fast fleeting. :shrug:

This was only the second year of an organized effort for this and while my own city was not involved, some did make an effort (http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/EarthHour/article/407246).

Personally, this type of exercise is about of the short view of 'waste', more so than the long term issue of global warming.

[wyndhy]

it certainly sparks conversation and interest and perhaps the long term effects will do more.

we spent a good part of the hour talking to our daughter and answering her questions about energy use, pollution, wasteful habits and reducing our footprint. it's not the first time we've done this, but it gave us an interesting opportunity to do it again.

[scotzoidman]

I guess anything that keeps us talking about it is better than doing nothing at all, but my concern is that the very people that need to hear the message are the very people not listening...

[PantyFanatic]

Preaching to the choir is not unique to this endeavor. How do you get to the ears that have the hand on the switch? If your suggestion is through the ballet box, you can sing that tune to somebody that doesn't believe lobbies and corruption haven't closed the valve.

[wyndhy]

I guess anything that keeps us talking about it is better than doing nothing at all, ...
absolutely. just because a person can't change the world in an hour, doesn't mean their efforts are a waste. it's the opposite attitude that helped get us here in the first place.

[jseal]

The longer it takes to effect meaningful change, the greater the change will need to be in order for it to be effective.

[wyndhy]

ok but that doesn't mean that even the smallest effort is a wasted one

[jseal]

In keeping with the thread imagery,

"She would rather light candles than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world."

[wyndhy]

why thank you. a great lady to be likened to

[jseal]

Yes'm - to both.