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Earth Hour
	Topic by: doozer Posted: March 28, 2009 - 4:14 PM PDT Last Reply: March 30, 2009 - 10:29 PM PDT

author	topic: Earth Hour
doozer	post #1  on March 28, 2009 - 4:14 PM PDT   Anybody doing this tonight? Everybody turns their lights off from 8:30pm to 9:30pm in their respective time zones as a vote for Earth in the Earth vs. global warming metaphorical election. Ignoring it is a vote for global warming. Rather than try to talk my Missouri friends into observing it, because they wont, because it's hard enough to get them to recycle (they only do it on the grounds that -I- take their shit in to be recycled)...instead I am having a party, getting everyone here (assuming they will be smart enough to turn their lights off when they leave their homes) and at 8:30 I'm just going to switch off the breaker and say "OMG POWER OUTAGE!! I have candles and board games...it shouldn't be off long..."
Battie	post #2  on March 28, 2009 - 5:23 PM PDT   If I do this, but go drive 15 miles for coffee...does that negate Earth Hour for me? XD
doozer	post #3  on March 28, 2009 - 5:57 PM PDT   > On March 28, 2009 - 5:23 PM PDT Battie wrote: > --------------------------------- > If I do this, but go drive 15 miles for coffee...does that negate Earth Hour for me? XD > --------------------------------- Probably, as well as being a waste of fuel so WAY TO SUPPORT GLOBAL WARMING BATTIE!! ^_^
shiftless	post #4  on March 28, 2009 - 6:32 PM PDT   My friend just uploaded a photo to Facebook of NYC, pretty darn dark! Not every one got the memo, but it was impressive. Is it considered not participating to watch a movie on the TV with all the lights out? ;)
Battie	post #5  on March 28, 2009 - 7:50 PM PDT   I know, but I'm hoping that if it gets hot and dry enough here, all the roaches will move north.
NLee	post #6  on March 28, 2009 - 9:59 PM PDT   I predict by January 2010 we will see the side-effect of Earth Hour - an explosion of Earth Babies.
Battie	post #7  on March 29, 2009 - 3:11 AM PDT   Wal-Mart finally cured me of all optimism and idealism. Now I want a fast car, lots of money and a hot young thang I can twist to my will. The American dream, yeuh! Actually, I figure the time to set plans in motion in time (assuming we even had/have any) is upon us. Unfortunately, so are a lot of other things. Oil prices, economic instability, Iranian nukes, Russian desire for dominance, Chinese sneakiness...the list continues. Global warming is going to be on a back-burner for a long time, simply because we won't see the effects immediately. So I'm going with the flow. Haven't you noticed fewer 'major' reports about global warming? Fewer politicians talking about it, fewer friends mentioning it?
doozer	post #8  on March 29, 2009 - 3:40 AM PDT   > On March 29, 2009 - 3:11 AM PDT Battie wrote: > --------------------------------- > Wal-Mart finally cured me of all optimism and idealism. Now I want a fast car, lots of money and a hot young thang I can twist to my will. The American dream, yeuh! > > Actually, I figure the time to set plans in motion in time (assuming we even had/have any) is upon us. Unfortunately, so are a lot of other things. Oil prices, economic instability, Iranian nukes, Russian desire for dominance, Chinese sneakiness...the list continues. Global warming is going to be on a back-burner for a long time, simply because we won't see the effects immediately. So I'm going with the flow. > > Haven't you noticed fewer 'major' reports about global warming? Fewer politicians talking about it, fewer friends mentioning it? > --------------------------------- Not really, I get paid to teach kids to recycle and not start forest fires and not litter and to use other alternative resources cause children are our future and this Earth is the only one we're gonna get so we should take care of it and all that jazz so I have to go out of my way to hear it, even when it is annoying. Though it is pretty ridiculous that people don't seem to think about or care about where non biodegradable waste goes. It's not going to just disappear. Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely green. I'm looking at a styrofoam cup right now on my desk in fact, but I'm not so foolish to believe all of this convenience might cost more than what it's worth in the long run. I'm not trying to be preachy, those are just my personal feelings. Oh never mind. I'm in the clear. My cup has a label on it that says it's made from paper...it just feels foamy ^_^ Last week I went on a field trip with my group and my gaggle of first graders wanted to see the gorillas. We went to the gorilla pit and the gorilla was holding a Coke cup. Somebody littered in the freakin gorilla pit. I don't know why that surprises me though because about 4 years ago at the same zoo a polar bear died after choking on trash that somebody tossed into the polar bear area. For some reason that disturbs me more than actually locking the animals up in a zoo :-/
Vanamonde	post #9  on March 29, 2009 - 6:54 PM PDT   I was in another discussion group about this and there was so many cynics and hardhearted people....I think it was a Good Thang, that people wanted to just do this small thang to say "We Care for our Mother Earth". And I kinda wish it was a little later in the eve as damnable Daylight Saving Time has pushed my wonderous night ahead an hour. There was still a bit of sunset left at the beginning. But then the original power ballad came back into my life and if I told the name, you would laugh, you young cynics. But I went in to a horrible depression and cried and cried and cried over my dear lost Lenora. Rapping, rapping at my cranium door, my heart quaking that ole ancient pain. And I forgot all about it, lost in my personal pain. got drunk. when to bed early. wtf...all is darkness.
Vanamonde	post #10  on March 29, 2009 - 6:57 PM PDT   Oh, yes and Lenore (of course it is not her name) would like this. She had a passion for ecology. I miss her, so damn much. She is playing keyboards for Hendrix.
Battie	post #11  on March 29, 2009 - 7:46 PM PDT   > On March 29, 2009 - 3:40 AM PDT doozer wrote: > --------------------------------- > Not really, I get paid to teach kids to recycle and not start forest fires and not litter and to use other alternative resources cause children are our future and this Earth is the only one we're gonna get so we should take care of it and all that jazz so I have to go out of my way to hear it, even when it is annoying. > I don't think teaching kids not to litter, to recycle, etc is really going to improve much. Assuming it even gets into their tiny little brains. After all, Daddy drives an F250 to work (in accounts payable), mom loves her SUV people-carrier, they all eat veggies from cans and plastic packaging (most of those veggies coming from halfway around the world) and their own toys were made in China, where waste dumping laws aren't exactly common. Even if humanity was willing to change (not a chance), we're talking an incredibly huge undertaking. Small steps are all well and good, but it's ultimately big steps that are necessary. How and where we get our food, how we get from place to place, where our trash goes, the AMOUNT of trash, where goods originate, the value of goods (how many of us, in our lifetime, have owned "figurines" - wanna lay bets on how many end up in the garbage, either as throw-aways or broken?), etc. And one of the biggest threats is just population. But you are not likely to hear a thing about population control. You probably wouldn't even hear about it if we'd resorted to cannabalism to feed ourselves. So...no. Optimism dead. I feel better. Well, except when I watch stuff like Planet Earth. Then I want to hang myself for helping species go exinct. Dirty, filthy human. I'm making an effort not to watch stuff like that. *goes back to watching Top Gear* Speaking of...think about how many resources making movies and tv shows uses. Broadcasting them. Making DVDs. It's not the fundamentals that will trip us up. It's the luxuries. And everyone on the planet wants to live like us. *snicker* > Though it is pretty ridiculous that people don't seem to think about or care about where non biodegradable waste goes. It's not going to just disappear. Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely green. I'm looking at a styrofoam cup right now on my desk in fact, but I'm not so foolish to believe all of this convenience might cost more than what it's worth in the long run. I'm not trying to be preachy, those are just my personal feelings. > My household recycles. I even nag my grandmother (she's moved back in) to turn off lights when she leaves a room. But apparently only 6% of the people in my town recycle. Somewhere between 200-250 people. The city supplies recycle bins and pickup, but to no effect. > Oh never mind. I'm in the clear. My cup has a label on it that says it's made from paper...it just feels foamy ^_^ > So....you let a CO2-absorbing tree be cut down for a cup? Don't you have a glass somewhere..? > Last week I went on a field trip with my group and my gaggle of first graders wanted to see the gorillas. We went to the gorilla pit and the gorilla was holding a Coke cup. Somebody littered in the freakin gorilla pit. I don't know why that surprises me though because about 4 years ago at the same zoo a polar bear died after choking on trash that somebody tossed into the polar bear area. For some reason that disturbs me more than actually locking the animals up in a zoo :-/ > --------------------------------- That is...messed up. You must live in a horrible place.
underdog	post #12  on March 30, 2009 - 4:30 PM PDT   Well I'm more optimistic about this than Battie at least ;-) and I did honor Earth Hour. My g/f and I turned off all the lights and power (even the power strips) and played a game of Gloom (fun mock-mopey card game) by candlelight (appropriately). Was kinda neat. Looked like a lot of people in our neighborhood participated too, saw a lot of lights out and very quiet. Then when we turned the TV back on later it almost felt intrusive and we turned it off. If nothing else, something like that is a good reminder of how much noise we surround ourselves by, submerge ourselves in, on a daily, even hourly, basis. I do think it makes a difference. The reports I saw of the power dips in major cities world wide is pretty significant. Of course, just one hour -- if we had dips like that more frequently it would make a bigger impact. But for educational purposes, well, it can't hurt. I know too many scientists of all varieties who have shown me too much evidence about global warming, and man's impact on it, to feel any way other than we need to do something about it. I find it sad that there are still millions of people who think it's all hooey. And hey, even if it was hooey: a) well, what if it's not? Why chance it? and b) there are many other benefits to the environment in conserving energy, in going "green." It's really a no-brainer to me.
KKelleman	post #13  on March 30, 2009 - 6:48 PM PDT   > On March 28, 2009 - 4:14 PM PDT doozer wrote: > --------------------------------- > Anybody doing this tonight? Everybody turns their lights off from 8:30pm to 9:30pm in their respective time zones as a vote for Earth in the Earth vs. global warming metaphorical election. Ignoring it is a vote for global warming. > > Rather than try to talk my Missouri friends into observing it, because they wont, because it's hard enough to get them to recycle (they only do it on the grounds that -I- take their shit in to be recycled)...instead I am having a party, getting everyone here (assuming they will be smart enough to turn their lights off when they leave their homes) and at 8:30 I'm just going to switch off the breaker and say "OMG POWER OUTAGE!! I have candles and board games...it shouldn't be off long..." > --------------------------------- I did this.AND I live in Missouri.lol And I recycle...
NLee	post #14  on March 30, 2009 - 8:12 PM PDT   > On March 30, 2009 - 6:48 PM PDT KKelleman wrote: > --------------------------------- > I did this.AND I live in Missouri.lol > And I recycle... > --------------------------------- Recycle in Missouri means you eat the road kill you ran over.
Battie	post #15  on March 30, 2009 - 9:47 PM PDT   Actually, I was planning on going to get coffee before I read this thread (telling me it was Earth Hour). I tried to get back in time to turn everything off, but no go. Think my computer was on the entire time. :P Logistically speaking, I think it's possible to stop any further damage. When you throw money into the problem, it gets just a fraction less possible (though the money is there). I just don't think people are willing to change fast enough to do any good. Besides, if everyone lived like Westerners, there'd be nothing left. It becomes a choice between everyone trying to live like us (and destroying the world), no one living like us (not even us) or a kind of kings over paupers sorta thing we now have. America as we know it is sustainable...provided everyone else is happy living in "poverty." Kinda sounds like Rome to me. Personally, I support the last one. Humanity has existed in poverty forever. Why go against tradition? :) Plus, poverty without modern interference (medicine, condoms, etc) does lead to population decline. Everyone wins! ...I've watched too many documentaries. It's depressing.
doozer	post #16  on March 30, 2009 - 10:29 PM PDT   > On March 30, 2009 - 8:12 PM PDT NLee wrote: > --------------------------------- > > On March 30, 2009 - 6:48 PM PDT KKelleman wrote: > > --------------------------------- > > I did this.AND I live in Missouri.lol > > And I recycle... > > --------------------------------- > > Recycle in Missouri means you eat the road kill you ran over. > --------------------------------- That's just legally hunting without a hunting license ^_^