Journal BarbaraHudson's Journal: Why I'm boycotting Earth Day 7
Earth Day - the day we're supposed to show our concern for the environment by turning off our lights for one hour between 8:30 and 9:30 pm - is just greenwashing.
It's still below freezing here, and I doubt than any of the people who will be turning out their lights will be pulling their main circuit breaker to also turn of their heat, fridge, etc. But if everyone did, it would actually have a negative impact on the environment, as everyone turning the heat back on at 9:30 will create a spike in demand - a spike that will have to be met via peak electrical generator units, which are less efficient.
And everyone driving to some place to hold a candle-light vigil? Come off it - unless you walked or biked you probably used more energy than if you sat at home with all your lights on at once.
The sun sets here today at 7:13 pm. I'm not going to be bumbling around in the dark for an hour like some poseurs. I'm greener than anyone I know. I walk everywhere I can - last Wednesday it was 13 km to go to the dentist and back the day after the 16" snowstorm. Next week it will be 19 km round-trip to the doctor's. I use public transit when I have to. I recycle. But my lights are going to be on tonight. I don't need to fake being green so I can feel like I'm doing something positive.
Symbolism (Score:2)
I reside in the city that started Earth Hour - Sydney.
Having said that, there are years that I have embraced it and years that I have supported "Human Achievement Hour" (which occur simultaneously).
I have recently come to the realisation that while Earth Hour itself has little benefit for the planet, the symbolism itself is a marker for the brain. It brings to consciousness, the affect humans have on the planet. This could (but probably won't) change behaviours.
The original focus of Earth Hour was to have o
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Empty symbolism is an excuse for not making real change. "I did my part" - just an excuse for compartmentalizing the problem and not thinking about doing more. It's like the people who drive SUVs to go to the gym - "to exercise." Would it kill them to walk, jog, or bike there? Or walk, jog, or bike anywhere else instead?
I'm not into symbolism. This particular symbolism does nothing to raise awareness of the real problems we're facing. It's just a check box on the feel-good-but-don't-take-concrete-action ag
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>> It won't make a difference in your electrical bill, and your utility prefers the load factor of tungsten anyway.
Can you please clarify these statements?
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If you're using electricity to heat your house, might as well use incandescent bulbs in the winter, since the "waste" they generate is heat, which can heat the room, reducing the amount of electricity consumed by resistance heating. Also, since some of that "waste" energy is infrared, it heats up the bodies that intercept it, rather than the air, so there's actually a slight savings.
Once the heating system is over, put the energy-efficient bulbs in. You won't be using them as much anyways (more daylight ho
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I live in Phoenix. Heat your house? what madness is this?
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Right On (Score:2)
I love the way you refuse to let us off the hook for our shit.
Its absolutely true that being green is more than just a novel sentiment - its a damn near impossible accomplishment of any human being in today's world. It is a monumental challenge to our very survival which fundamentally has been wholly anti-green in its dominance of natural resources and of civilization. So we conquer ourselves when we dominate nature. We better unwind that approach quickly if we give a shit about this world after we are n