Earth Hour

[GordMay]

Earth Hour ~ Saturday, March 28, 2009

Join millions of people across the globe as they participate by turning off all lights and non-essential electrical appliances between 8:30 & 9:30 PM local time, to support an increased awareness of environmental issues.

Earth Hour began two years ago in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses shut off the lights for one hour. Now this annual event has become a global movement, with up to 100 million people, across 35 countries participating.

[Morgan Paul]

Thanks Gord for the heads-up.

But I think I will skip it.

[Ram]

Yes Gord Thanks and I will participate - It is the least I can do!

[cdennyb]

that's a very nice sentiment, but now think about this.
What happens when the poewr doesn't come back on?
How can this happen you ask. If all the generating sources on the planet are working at say, 70% capacity and all of a sudden, the load decreases by 60-80%, they will start tripping power generators out of the grid supply. Electricity is one commodity that has to be used as it's made, can't store it (except batteries but we aren't talking about batteries.), so now everything has stabilized, the gen sources have now cut back their capacity to meet the 30-40% load and everyone kicks on the power again after an hour. Guess what happens? Crash. because the generator systems can't meet the immediate demand for a billion Kw or more of power demand instantly. Someone isn't going to have power... so, if you choose to participate in this leftwing, ridiculus show of feel good sentiment, keep in mind what the global implications are. Instea of just flipping off the power for an hour, how aout cutting back in general... like turning out the lights when you leave the room, don't leave the water running, quit using plastic bags, consolidate your trips to town by car... etc. you get the picture... it's preached every day by some university green club members.
I'm not saying it's a bad thing, the wanting to make a statement, but every good deed goes unpunished. LoL

in case you scoff at this idea, here's an interesting article from USA today, specifically addressing the power problem of just adding a few thousand electric cars to an urban area and the impact on keeping the power coming while these all go the charging mode at the end of the day!
http://www.usatoday.com/money/indust...ric-cars_N.htm

[Dreaming Yachtsman]

cdennyb,
You missed a key phrase in GordMay's original post: "8:30 & 9:30 PM local time". Worst case, we would see power surges in only one time zone at a time. Perhaps that could cause some local power outages but certainly not the global catastrophe you implied.

[cdennyb]

ok, it wouldn't be an instanous global catastrophe, it'd be a sequentially initiated catastrophe. Ever been in a power generating station like a Co-Gen plant, hydroelectric plant? It's a crisis moment when things go crazy like that. I guess those guys could use some excitement, it's pretty boring watching power load meters go up and down so slowly. LoL
A 50-70% drop in load over a 5 minute period of time would certainly be cause for alarms to go off.
It will likely be a non-issue but certainly worth the acedemic exercise we have the luxury of entertaining here at the board.

good thoughts.

[SV Someday Came]

Last couple of days MCAGCC has signs posted announcing this event.

Thank-you Gord.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by cdennyb

<snip>
I'm not saying it's a bad thing, the wanting to make a statement, but every good deed goes unpunished.

The phrase you're trying to quote is actually "No good deed goes unpunished," attributed to Clare Booth Luce in H.Faber, The Book of Laws (1980). See:

No good deed goes unpunished. Clare Booth Luce, H. Faber, The Book of Laws, 1980

The correct quote, "No good deed goes unpunished," is pithy and full of delicious irony, while your incorrect rendition is both pointless and meaningless.

TaoJones

[Ram]

Originally Posted by cdennyb

that's a very nice sentiment, but now think about this.
if you choose to participate in this leftwing, ridiculus show of feel good sentiment, keep in mind what the global implications are.[/URL]

Remember all actions are created in the mind first- so with this action some folks perhaps will become more aware and start being a bit more
aware that they are wasting energy- and the Global implications could be great!, like lower energy cost for all along with less pollution, need I go on?

[cdennyb]

taojones...
yep, thats the right quote... i'm not an english major. thanks for the correction. nice job.

ram...
certainly not... good point. they're all dreams until someone does something. Shutting off my power due to some good meaning stunt would certainly get me attention. I wouldn't be thinking about conserving energy anymore, I'd probably be thinking about how to get "even" with such a bunch of idiots. LoL

[44'cruisingcat]

Well Sydney has done it the past 2 years without catastrophy. Virtually all of Australia did last year, with no reported problems.

The fact is, at the end of "Earth hour" everybody doesn't switch everything back on at once. You realise you really didn't need all those lights and appliances going at once, so you leave some of them switched off. (Which is kind of the point)

We usually have a barbecue that night with a bunch of our neighbours, almost everything in the houses is switched off, (except fridges and such) and left off till we all go home, and most stuff ends up being left off all that night.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by GordMay

in

Originally Posted by GordMay

Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses shut off the lights for one hour. .

Ho Ho Ho! 2.2 million houses in Sydney? I don't think there are that many!
There wasn't a dimming of the lights, can I tell you.
It was a media frenzy because it was a good looking school girl behind it (I thought it was quite sickening!)

Theres better ways to save the planet than making us feel guilt about ourselves.

The only other people that want us living in an unlit dustbowl driving a horse and cart are the religious extremists.

I'll fire up the diesel and grill some meat

Mark

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by cdennyb

ok, it wouldn't be an instanous global catastrophe, it'd be a sequentially initiated catastrophe.

CDenny, I believe your wonderful description "sequentially initiated catastrophe" is new to the right wing. It is entirely possible that you might sell this phrase or at least copyrite it, as they are always on the lookout for new scary phrases with which to frighten the general public. We at the forum should all be proud that this phrase was first published right here and glad in our knowing that we all helped instigate it. And you said you're not an English major...

[MidLandOne]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

...There wasn't a dimming of the lights, can I tell you...

That's how I remember it being reported after the event too for Australia. It was certainly so over here, didn't notice any lights out but I guess a few must have fallen for the silly gimmick.

Sydney first - I wonder, can't recall - but I would have thought we would have been first on the day, er on the night . Maybe the 2.2 million houses and businesses for Sydney included us too - many around the world don't know which is which when it comes to Oz and NZ - sorta like getting mixed up between the UK and France, we even speak different languages . But what would one expect from people who are happy to sit in the dark for an hour - I wonder what they did, was there a surge in births 9 months later, interesting?

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by MidLandOne

Oz and NZ - sorta like getting mixed up between the UK and France, we even speak different languages .

But no one has sucessfully swum the channel.