Spring Break
'Earth Hour' stupid, pointless and downright dumb
Gabe Kovacs
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Commentary
On March 28, people around the world turned off their lights to celebrate Earth Hour. This global event was funded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Apparently, Earth Day got demoted.
Jokes aside, Earth Hour must be one of the most pointless ideas that the eco-fascists have come up with. There are better ways to save energy or raise awareness than just shutting off the lights for an hour.
The first problem with Earth Hour is the money and planning spent on the event. Think of how much money was spent paying workers to shut down large buildings like the Empire State Building, and to turn the power back on an hour later. Advertising for Earth Hour must have been costly as well. There's so much money being spent, it's as if the economy didn't crash.
Most likely, keeping something like the Empire State Building lit on a constant, continuous level saves power and energy. It's a simple concept: keeping a light on constantly uses less energy than turning the light on and off.
Also, think of all the Earth Hour volunteers that drove around to spread the word. Not only did they spend money on gas, but they also put carbon dioxide emissions into the air.
On that note, think of the people that used candles to light their house during the hour. Candles are commonly made out of paraffin wax, which comes from fossil fuels. Even if people used an organic soybean candle, carbon dioxide is still being emitted no matter what is burned.
The slogan for Earth Hour is "Save a watt, and maybe the Earth." However, Earth Hour may have wasted more energy than it saved. If people weren't using candles to get around their house, they would likely use a flashlight. Battery-operated flashlights that use incandescent light bulbs are not nearly as efficient as a fluorescent bulb that uses main-current electricity.
But if Earth Hour isn't about saving electricity or money, then what is it about?
"The purpose of the event was not to save money or power. It's a symbolic event," according to the WWF.
How ironic - today's society is going back to the Dark Ages for symbolism. Really, what is a symbolic event going to do for the environment? A symbolic event isn't going to save the world. And what has raising awareness done to people? Nothing.
There's no need for symbols here, especially not symbols that just create more problems. Problems are solved with action - not action from the government; they are busy with the economy right now.
The world needs initiative from people that are willing to do their part, the ones that freely decide how much they want to conserve, because shoving environmentalism down people's throats won't get the world very far.
Jokes aside, Earth Hour must be one of the most pointless ideas that the eco-fascists have come up with. There are better ways to save energy or raise awareness than just shutting off the lights for an hour.
The first problem with Earth Hour is the money and planning spent on the event. Think of how much money was spent paying workers to shut down large buildings like the Empire State Building, and to turn the power back on an hour later. Advertising for Earth Hour must have been costly as well. There's so much money being spent, it's as if the economy didn't crash.
Most likely, keeping something like the Empire State Building lit on a constant, continuous level saves power and energy. It's a simple concept: keeping a light on constantly uses less energy than turning the light on and off.
Also, think of all the Earth Hour volunteers that drove around to spread the word. Not only did they spend money on gas, but they also put carbon dioxide emissions into the air.
On that note, think of the people that used candles to light their house during the hour. Candles are commonly made out of paraffin wax, which comes from fossil fuels. Even if people used an organic soybean candle, carbon dioxide is still being emitted no matter what is burned.
The slogan for Earth Hour is "Save a watt, and maybe the Earth." However, Earth Hour may have wasted more energy than it saved. If people weren't using candles to get around their house, they would likely use a flashlight. Battery-operated flashlights that use incandescent light bulbs are not nearly as efficient as a fluorescent bulb that uses main-current electricity.
But if Earth Hour isn't about saving electricity or money, then what is it about?
"The purpose of the event was not to save money or power. It's a symbolic event," according to the WWF.
How ironic - today's society is going back to the Dark Ages for symbolism. Really, what is a symbolic event going to do for the environment? A symbolic event isn't going to save the world. And what has raising awareness done to people? Nothing.
There's no need for symbols here, especially not symbols that just create more problems. Problems are solved with action - not action from the government; they are busy with the economy right now.
The world needs initiative from people that are willing to do their part, the ones that freely decide how much they want to conserve, because shoving environmentalism down people's throats won't get the world very far.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
Kim O'Brien
posted 4/03/09 @ 12:58 PM EST
If you are going to criticize Earth Hour from an economic view you should have actually taken the time to put forward some real figures instead of "simple concepts". (Continued…)
Ross
posted 4/03/09 @ 5:49 PM EST
First of all it is absolutely false to say that turning lights off and on uses more energy than leaving them on. That is a myth that has absolutely no factual basis to it. (Continued…)
ryan
posted 4/05/09 @ 1:47 AM EST
it's a really good job of switching off the lights to save electricity on the earth day.we must save the electricity as much as possible for our present eeds and for our future needs too. (Continued…)
David
posted 4/05/09 @ 9:21 PM EST
Dude, I can't believe you didn't mention the fact that people died because of Earth Hour. -> http://www.bbspot.com/News/2009/03/patients-die-earth-hour. (Continued…)
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