by frog
… so our web sites – along with hundreds of others – will be unavailable for an hour from 8:30.
By uniting the community in this action we send a clear message to the National Government and governments around the world about the need to take action.
Visit www.earthhour.org for more information.
Published in Environment & Resource Management by frog on Sat, March 27th, 2010
Tags: earth hour
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
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Is that true for a VPS also? Anyway, we’re not turning them off, just displaying an earth hour message rather than our normal content.
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No for VPS very little difference would be made, as I’m guessing the othe hosted services would stay on line.
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Did you see aussie stats which showed earth hour achieved nothing last year in terms of power savings. Simply, power usage which would have occurred during earth hour was moved to either side resulting in no net savings.
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Sweetd: for me anyway, it’s not about amount of power saved or CO2 not being released – it’s about taking part in a very visible action with millions of other people to demonstrate that we care
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Thanks for the reminder, I had forgotten.
That’s interesting about the Aussie stats Sweetd mentioned.
I agree with rimu. I see Earth Hour as an opportunity to raise awareness and discussion at home.
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or playing find the beer in the dark :p
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a very visible action with millions of other people
Which will be roundly ignored.
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si,
Shutting down a computer for one hour will save a lot of energy compared to running it continuously. Just think about it: at start up there will be a momentary surge in power usage as disc drives etc spin up but afterwards it will consume no more than normal (why should it?)
If your claim was true, and in the (say) first minute of operation the computer used more energy than in 60 minutes normal operation, then a computer that normally drew 100W would need to draw 6000W in the first minute (to exceed an hours normal energy usage); this would blow any normal fuse (which of course doesn’t happen because the claim of radically greater energy use is false).
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In Dunedin, as well as the organised events in the Octogon, the University of Otago showed its support by turning off the lights in the clock tower building and lights surrounding the St David Lecture theater.
Michael Anderson,
Otago University Students’ Association.
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Not everyone aware that there is earth hour happening tonight.
Most shopping mall at my place don’t bother to switch their light.
Most housing area in my place forgot to switch their light too.
Maybe they forgot, earth need to rest to.
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We turned out the lights of the hall in which we were celebrating the harvest with a community feast and lit beeswax candles instead. Several shadowy figures sang, recited poetry and played music (unplugged). We enjoyed it so much that it was over one hour and a half later that we thought to turn the electricity back on.
One of the things that I enjoy most about Earth Hour, is the way righties get foamy about the idea.
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Strike-out! …Closed for repairs… Nice cuddles though.
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You’re a hopeless romantic, samyouam.
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I don’t know if it is people with right wing views who dislike the idea of Earth hour. Rather, its those people who would rather bury their heads in the sand, who probably have a range of political leanings.
Obviously Earth hour is going to make almost no difference to greenhouse gas emissions; it isn’t designed to do this. Rather its an educational event to remind people their is a major problem, and something needs to be done about it. The thought that they may have to get used to getting of their fat asses and turning off unused lights and implementing other energy saving activities is too much for some people.
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Pix from the global event are up:
http://earthhourblog.posterous.com/london-calling-53
(plus every other locality of note in the Northern Hemisphere
Meanwhile, back in Fairfax-world, here’s what the Dompost could manage:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/national/3517905/Less-impact-for-Earth-Hour
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Just a casual mention that West Coast topped the power use reduction statistics with a 13% decrease, and I don’t think that was all Shunda and me.
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Well a lightbulb blew – that’ll be what happened.
What is the Capital City of the West?
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Actually at one stage Mark Greymouth was referred to a Crescent City. If we can’t go back to Mawhera, then I’d take Crescent City any day over Greymouth (“dentist’s nightmare” according to Billy Connolly)
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Aha! Maruewa (sp? it was a long time ago) would get my vote.
But then Murchison, Hokitika – all Capital Places….
Speaking of Dentists nightmares -i just finished
Barry Crump’s autobiography – an haunting experience
didn’t realize he’d pulled so many teeth !
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Crescent City – also an epithet for New Orleans….we could have sister cities – call Greymouth – “The Big Easy” as well…allow a certain latitide with lawn’order – it’s rackin up casualties elsewhere.
Could be time for an experiment within an experiment.
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Like it Mark!
Think it was Maruia you were thinking of: has its own saddle, falls, declaration and – best of all – onsen (Japanese baths) at Maruia Springs.
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yep you got it right there Kevin.
Sam Hunt told us to check it out
He reckoned the Bar was on a lean
the father-in-law reckon it may have been
the Bard doin the leaning
bee-yoo-ti-ful place
is it still there? – pristine?
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a 13% reduction in the west coast is really significant. It shows that people care. Most people can’t stop using electricity or gasoline, but are willing to make a symbolic gesture….
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turning off unused lights and implementing other energy saving activities is too much for some people
Which is why personal tokenism won’t get us very far.
Only the environmentally aware middle classes will take part in these activities. 1% reduction in power – even allowing for the amount of “always on” equipment, it’s unlikely Auckland participation went over 5%. (You’ve got to reckon that a few Aucklanders will have driven from Henderson to the city to watch all the lights go off, as well).
That was for a widely publicised, one-off event with minimum self sacrifice. How many people will move out of the suburbs, stop driving a car or put extra clothes on in cold weather? Even less, I reckon.
The only way to reduce fossil fuel usage is to replace generation with sustainable inputs and force lifestyle change through taxation. That can only be done by governments, not by switching a few lights off.
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Mark – Murchison? You’ve got me puzzling over that one!
I lived there for a while, milking cows.
It’s very iso
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lated.
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“Just a casual mention that West Coast topped the power use reduction statistics with a 13% decrease, and I don’t think that was all Shunda and me.”
Have you read the latest Kevin? It turns out that the good councillor (and owner of the largest electric gold dredge in the southern hemisphere) Alan Birchfield, seems to have tried to scuttle earth hour reductions in the West by firing up said dredge during earth hour!!
But clearly this energy drain was not recorded quick enough to register and some disgruntled anonymous person has told the local paper that we can’t possibly have made the most reductions because THEY MADE SURE WE COULDN’T!!!
But the paper has put all that right now, and we can all relax in the knowledge that we didn’t save a sclerick of “juice” due to the incredibly rational, forward thinking (and non petty) councillor and miner, Mr Birchfield.
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big enuff to get married and divorced in apparently Fly…we must have met then….I left just after the neighbour decided to blow himself a swimming hole in the river.
That Dynamite did the job alright – unfortunately turned all the rock-ends jagged.
Anyone who tried swimming lost pints of the red stuff – good eh?
No Good At All.
Keep posting Fly – you are taking Aussie wickets like a Champion!!!!
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Shunda – your ‘Mr Birchfield’ sounds a spiteful little arse!
Really dredging the slime at the bottom of one of his toxic sludge ponds for that gem of self expression.
Perhaps Mr Birchfield would enjoy some attention from you.
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“Perhaps Mr Birchfield would enjoy some attention from you.”
Powerful people they are greenfly, rich, well connected and bullies to boot.
Quite frankly I wouldn’t know where to start.
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Shunda – drunkards are easy-beats and when your adversaries are drunk on power, easier still.
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Um, is this Birchfield the same as this Birchfield, Shunda?
[...asks the toad, furiously flicking between threads...]
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It will be one and the same! And no, I hadn’t seen it Shunda. Interesting for the non-Coasters to see what we deal with on a regular basis: most people are great, but positions of power and influence are mostly still held by people with belief systems from the 19th century.
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When are you in town next Kevin?
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You’ve seen this, Shunda?
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/john-key-received-donation-from-mining-industry/
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I’m around a bit next week Shunda. Have some commitments off the Coast but actually in Greymouth for part of each day. Drop me a line to kevin.hague@parliament.govt.nz if you want to meet up.
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