Please Remember to Turn Off Your Lights - Earth Hour Tonight

[pierrelebel]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/03/23/bc-earth-hour-canada.html 

[pigdog47]

Does this mean the generating stations will shut down for an hour also?

[pigdog47]

:^O

You can turn your lights back on in just 5 more minutes.  

Save the Whales.  

[rosscd57]

It's bad enought that I live one Province over from BC and I have to go to my cabin every summer and live with these weenies. At least the fishing is good - go Horsefly.

[pigdog47]

I think a person's energy consuming  lifestyle choices over the other 8759 hours in a year is more significant than a 1 hour symbolic genuflection.  

[my3dotties]

I would  suspect many more hours of nation wide lights out in the future.

W1B-)

[ilurkthereforiam]

So we turn off our lights for an hour that creates a surplus from the wind turbines that we have to sell off to other provinces and states at $40 a kilowatt hour?

[pierrelebel]

TORONTO - Canadians joined millions of others around the globe to mark Earth Hour Saturday.

The World Wildlife Fund, the driving force behind Earth Hour, said 13-million Canadians turned off their lights for an hour last year in the symbolic event aimed at drawing awareness to climate change.

It was unclear on Saturday if that figure was topped.

Nova Scotia Power reported a drop of five megawatts from 14.11 to 14.06 megawatts during the hour that people were asked to turn off their lights.

The Independent Electricity System Operator, which coordinates Ontario's electricity needs, said there was a 2.7 per cent drop in demand in Ontario during Earth Hour or 448 megawatts. The drop is more than the average peak energy needs of a city the size of Burlington, the agency said.

Earth Hour is embraced by hundreds of Canadian municipalities and many utilities have Earth Hour sections posted on their websites.

B.C. Hydro, for example, has a way for many of its customers to compare their electricity use during Earth Hour with their normal power usage.

Steven Price, a conservation director with the World Wildlife Fund, says municipalities are a driving force behind Earth Hour.

"Now if we could get the provinces, territories and federal government more interested, we'll be getting somewhere. And Earth Hour is meant to send a message, even if it's quote a dark one, to them."

His hope may not be so far away.

B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake posted a message on B.C. Hydro's website urging all residents in the province to power down tonight to show their concern for the global environment.

New Brunswick Environment Minister Bruce Fitch posted a similar message on the website of NB Power.

"This is an important initiative that highlights ways that we can impact our energy consumption and lessen our environmental footprint," Fitch said in a statement.

The city of Vancouver is carrying a global earth hour banner. The WWF picked Vancouver as its Global Earth Hour Capital over 66 other cities around the world. It's a recognition of the city's efforts to reduce pollution that causes climate change. The city also received the highest number of online votes in a People's Choice ballot.

The challenges of dealing with climate change can be enormous and can seem overwhelming, but we shouldn't underestimate the difference Canadians can make, Price said.

for more: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/23/earth-hour-2013_n_2938066.html 

As usual, the best part are the comments left by readers near the bottom of the page.

Different strokes for different folks.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I cannot support that as it doesn't make senses!  Why not turn off the lights during the daytime???  I am sure that many of you are using the lights during the daytime which in fact, sometimes it is not necessary to turn the lights on during the daytime as you get light from outside.

Since I am deaf, I am NOT going to turn the lights out, it is like being a blind person as I cannot hear.  It is bad enough that I am deaf and I don't need to be deaf and "blind" for an hour or whatever. 

Should turn off the lights during the daytime not in the evening.  Why else are the lights there in the first place, it is so we can see anything in the dark time like evenings!

I have told the governments, to change it to daytime as we fully knew it is wasteful to use lights during the daytime if we can get lights from outside all the time expect gloomy days like raining, storms, etc.

Thanks for letting me vent here.

[puckstopshere]

This Earth Hour thing has just about burned itself out.

Here in London (the heart of the universe), hydro use dropped by 1% during earth hour.

Several of my friends celebrated earth hour by turning off all lights, computers, TV's, etc.  Of course, they went out to the bar and watched the Leafs game. 

A more significant figure is that from 2011 to 2012, hydro use for all residents of the city dropped by 3%.  Considering that last summer was the warmest on record and air conditioners were humming, this IS significant. 

Why not have a goal of reducing hydro usage by 1% per year?

[pierrelebel]

"Why not have a goal of reducing hydro usage by 1% per year?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_electricity_policy

[pigdog47]

I have tried (without success) to do my part by asking the wife to use a treadle sewing machine, a hand cranked butter churn, and washing laundry by hand.

[pierrelebel]

"I have tried (without success)"

Now we know who the boss is in your household! 🙂

[pigdog47]

😉