What’s Up With Earth Hour?

It was reported on my television news that the power savings of earth hour had gone down locally. During last year’s Earth Hour, power usage decreased 6% of normal. This Earth Hour the power usage decreased only 4%. Does this spell the beginning of the end for Earth Hour? The news report didn’t really say but you were left to conclude it might very well be.

But let’s look at Earth Hour. It is very much a symbolic event. Most people who support it pretty much just switch off their lights for an hour. And it can be a learning thing as events are set up with non electrical lights to gather as a group and maybe learn a thing or two about using less electricity and helping the environment..

Let’s be honest, saving that 6 or 4 percent electricity for an hour isn’t going to save the world. We need to cut down on the electricity for all the other hours of a year to help the environment by needing less capacity in the power grid. Since Earth Hour is symbolic, maybe it’s not the best thing to be eyeing the numbers so closely. Perhaps last year people turned off their computers and other electronics and this year they just did it with their lights.

Or maybe the ecopigs are jealous of the goody goods taking part in these events. Perhaps they are using extra electricity during Earth Hour. You know, put on the blender, the TV, the electric stoves the stereo etc., all in an effort to make the goody goods look like they have diminishing numbers. Maybe that will sap them of their group strength.

Or perhaps the neighbourhood is now composed of a large percentage of grow-ops. And since they are stealing the electricity to begin with, these marijuana king pins aren’t likely to come out to all their houses and cut the electrical use for an hour just to be a goody good.

And then again, maybe the numbers are proof that Earth Hour is a roaring success. After all, turning off the lights is the main thrust of Earth Hour. But let’s say one third of last year’s Earth Hour participants bought exclusively compact fluorescent lights. And replaced all their old lights with these. As the power demands of these lights approach zero when compared with the old lights, when all the lights of all the goody goods get shut off during earth hour, the power use savings will only be 4% rather than last year’s 6%.

You’re right, the compact fluorescent lights didn’t quite go to zero electricity usage. So we’ll need a shade more than 1/3 of Earth Hour participants to have bought exclusively compact fluorescents for their homes. But it could still explain the difference. It’s doable, could’ve been done and Earth Hour might be a rip roaring success. That’s why I hate unexamined numbers which let you come to any of a number of conclusions.