Is switching off the lights for Earth Hour a huge waste of time and energy?

Interesting article, ETPro, thanks for sharing. I’ll think about it, because normally I participate.

“But, even if everyone in the entire world cut all residential lighting, and this translated entirely into CO2 reduction, it would be the equivalent of China pausing its CO2 emissions for less than four minutes. In fact, Earth Hour will cause emissions to increase.”

Bjørn Lomborg is a known quack. He is basically an anti-environmental spokesperson. I’m not even going to read the article. I can’t believe people are still listening to anything he has to say.

Excerpt from the Lomborg piece in Slate:

… small decline in electricity consumption does not translate into less energy being pumped into the grid, and therefore will not reduce emissions. Moreover, during Earth Hour, any significant drop in electricity demand will entail a reduction in CO2 emissions during the hour, but it will be offset by the surge from firing up coal or gas stations to restore electricity supplies afterward.

Wait – you can’t have it both ways! If power production continues to feed the grid without dropping when lights are off then there won’t be surges from power plants “firing up” when lights go back on – just an incremental average change. Interesting point about continued CO2 emissions from candles, but labeling them “fossil fuels” is a stretch. Definitely rant rhetoric.

Of course it will do something. Virtually insignificant, but something.
If it makes people think about saving energy, it accomplished something.

If someone turns off a 60W bulb for an hour but drives more than ¼ mile to visit with friends during the event, that negates any energy or CO2 saved.
If you live in a cold climate and have the heat on, you are saving nothing. The 60 W that would normally heat your home will be replaced almost one-for-one by the extra gas, oil, or electricity used by your heating system.

If you turn off the lights and burn wood found on your property you are truly saving something.

If you stay home, turn off the lights, make love and get pregnant, that new mouth to feed will draw much more resources and produce more CO2 over a lifetime than any bulbs you can possibly use.
New mantra: “Save The Environment – Use Protection!”

Embarrassed to admit I was only vaguely aware of Earth Hour (thanks, @ETpro), and now, after reading up on it, I’ve concluded it does minimal harm (clogged freeways during rush hour, now THAT’s harm), and if the only good it does is promulgate conservation awareness, I’m 100% for it.

It’s actually on Saturday evening, March 23. But this is like saying riding a bike doesn’t reduce pollution because of energy and mining byproducts from making the bike, when in fact the manufacturing of a bike more than makes up for the manufacturing of a car.

As @Pachyderm_In_The_Room points out, the goal is to raise awareness of both energy waste and light pollution, not to turn off your lights and go visit a friend. I too am 100% for it.

I only had time to glance over that article but I just don’t see how his point could be valid, sorry but there’s no reason to have more electricity not less. We are already overpopulated and killing our earth (though not in the ways that global warming enthusiasts say we are, I don’t think) ....saving electricity can only do good things for us and our earth. How about we don’t give iphones to 12 year olds anymore, that would be much more productive in many ways

The only validity I can see about it is that it might help raise awareness of the issue.

We should make it punishable to spread nonsense that is only aimed at trying to make people ignore environmental threats.

Of course overall energy consumption gets reduced if all of us turn off the lights.

I’ve spent spent a lot of time and money switching my home over to almost completely LED lighting. If I add up all the wattage, I can turn on all my lights and still only be using some 400 watts. Now, that’s not to say I don’t have a stockpile of 100 watt bulbs for bartering :P

Nice gesture, can’t hurt. The masses need a symbol to push to reduce consumption. If they could turn off the lights at the retail stores for about a week, that would be better, as consumption of goods is more the problem than lighting a room in the house.

@KNOWITALL Looks like I let myself get hoodwinked on this one. I’ve learned from the answers that this guy is a well-known shill for big oil. He even misstated the date for Earth Hour. It is Saturday, March 23 from 8:30 to 9:30 PM. While thinking about it, be sure to read the answers that expose his duplicity.

@glacial Thank you. I did not know that. I wondered about the flawed logic of some of his claims, and that’s why I decided to just throw it to my Fluther panel of experts.

@gasman That’s the same piece of flawed logic that triggered my suspicion and led me to ask about this. Thanks for the confirmation.

@LuckyGuy Exactly, and that’s the whole point to begin with. I am sure that the people behind this event have no illusions that 1 hour of reduced electrical consumption per year is going to magically reverse global warming and preserve dwindling non-renewable resources for an infinitely long time. It is to raise awareness, and it does that.

@Pachyderm_In_The_Room Thanks. Me too.

@zenvelo Thanks for pointing out that the author had misstated the date (among other things). I’m with you. 100% for it, and at the actual time, not one deliberately falsified by a fossil fuel shill.

@deni You’re absolutely right. Apparently the guy is an apologists for the crowd that claims that “Drill, baby, drill!” if the only way to save Earth (an boost their quarterly profits).

@YARNLADY Since that’s all it’s meant to do, I guess that means it’s valid.

@whitenoise We really should. It’s a crime against humanity. But for now, it pays “Oh so well!”.

@majorrich Good for you. I’ve now got a mix of CFL and LED with the LEDs where lighting gets the most use. It makes a serious difference in monthly electric billings.

@dannyc Exactly right. Thanks.