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Environment

Earth Hour is Such a Turn Off

Posted by Joshua / March 23, 2009

15 Comments

Earth HourAfter a pretty successful run last year, making a return engagement this Saturday night is Earth Hour, and Toronto Hydro is asking How Low Can We Go TO?

"Earth Hour is an important initiative to remind Torontonians about the importance of conserving electricity," says David O'Brien, President and CEO of Toronto Hydro Corporation. And that's why Hydro is sponsoring the How Low Can We Go TO contest, offering ten $250 prize packs of eco-minded gear (crank flashlight! solar backpack! solar clock!) for the brilliant (or lucky) among us who correctly guess how much Toronto's electrical demand will drop when we all shut off our lights.

But will we collectively turn out the lights as much as last year? Are there any other tricks up our collective sleeves for going low? Will any of this make a difference?

"The simple act of turning off the lights can make an incredible impact on the electricity grid and the environment," says CEO O'Brien. "We're encouraging everyone to participate and this contest is a fun way to get involved."

Last year during Earth Hour, Toronto dropped its electricity demand by 8.7 per cent - that's the equivalent of taking 262 megawatts off the grid, or approximately 5.8 million light bulbs.

This year Toronto Hydro is encouraging us to use battery-powered laptops (connected, I presume, to plugged in internet connections) to follow the drop in Toronto's electricity usage, live, as it happens Saturday night.

It all goes down this Saturday, March 28, 8:30 - 9:30 pm. I'll be watching with a front row seat from Toronto Hydro's "top secret" control room. Where will everybody else be?

Photo by Denmar.

Discussion

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krystyn / March 23, 2009 at 11:58 am
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Last year I was at the orchestra and they played the first hour in darkness in honour of this day. It made for a very profound and moving performance!
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Andreas / March 23, 2009 at 12:05 pm
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We were on the Danforth during Earth Hour last year. Lots of candle lit dinners happening. Walked over to Broadview and had a great view of downtown mostly in darkness. Interesting view of the city.
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Chester Pape / March 23, 2009 at 01:04 pm
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On the other hand, Last year I was involved in an unrelated event that had been scheduled before anyone had heard of earth hour. I had several people bail on our transit accessible event to DRIVE to official earth hour events in Mississauga and Downsview. So far I've not seen much to convince me that Earth Hour is not greenwashing.
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Robby / March 23, 2009 at 01:39 pm
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Earth Hour's heart is in the right place, but it can't help but strike me as one of those dopey symbolic gestures that ultimately do nothing to address the problem, other than making the participants feel good about themselves for a day or an hour.
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stint / March 23, 2009 at 02:54 pm
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I'll be at home doing the laundry, vacuuming the apartment, while watching my 52" plasma tv in the dark. Well, maybe not the last part. I still have my old 20" Sony with rabbit ears.

This is greenwash, pure and simple. My carbon footprint is smaller than David Susuki's. I don't see any benefit in participating in these public relations exercises.
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jamesmallon / March 23, 2009 at 04:07 pm
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Anyone who turns off their lights but owns a car is a hypocrite; like ordering a diet cola with a NY cheesecake.
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DJ / March 23, 2009 at 04:44 pm
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I'm sorry. I know this well meaning but lighting up polluting candles and having community earth-hour celebrations (that people drive to) isn't going to reduce greenhouse gases. I was shocked to read about earth-hour bonfires... WTF? And don't talk to me about "awareness".

The message is wrong. There is nothing wrong with your technology. Just use it more intelligently and don't be so wasteful.
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A|Layton / March 23, 2009 at 06:11 pm
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Not to mention the humongous power surges that occur seconds after the hour ends and causes transformers to overload and blow up when everyone runs to turn everything back on.

Seriously, want to make a difference? Try doing something for more than an hour every year. Take transit, install geothermal heating and cooling, solar/wind power generators, green roofs and the hundred of other interventions, both small and large, that can actually remove your house from the powergrid altogether. Now that adds up to real savings.
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Paul / March 23, 2009 at 07:39 pm
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Sweet, I didn't know it was time for that. I guess I know when I'll be cutting down some trees and dumping oil into rivers.
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pfft / March 23, 2009 at 08:20 pm
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if people don't actually bother to change their behaviour, then once again, Earth Hour will be a useless wank.

Also: lighting a candle makes one a polluter? Please spare us all from your stupid bullshit.
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eagle3 / March 23, 2009 at 09:11 pm
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Don't be so ridiculous, every little bit counts. If it brings attention to people the amount of energy they rack up unnecessarily, not to mention hefty hydro bills, then its a great thing. Don't be such a killjoy...
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Esquire / March 24, 2009 at 01:16 am
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I agree with eagle3. Every contribution helps, even if it is just for an hour. If it makes someone think about their consumption, that is a step in the right direction. Saving the world aside, having community participation events is always good for building a strong city. Join in and have some fun. Just becuase China sucks, doesn't mean Canada cant save some power!
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Nature Concern / March 24, 2009 at 10:05 am
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Thanks for promoting Earth Hour! Another way you can recruit people to the cause is by creating a Earth Hour group on Commit21.com. Simply create a group about one action that you will commit to do for Earth Hour and recruit your friends, family, and co-workers to get involved in that action as well. When it comes to climate change, simple actions can make huge differences and Commit21 leverages social media to influence networks of friends, family, and co-workers. Check it out at www.commit21.com
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James / March 24, 2009 at 11:31 pm
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The fact that billions of people around the world are even talking about Earth Hour makes it a success to me. Earth Hour isn't about the electricity savings, it's about awareness and learning about how everyone can help reduce their impact on the earth.

If your footprint is smaller than David Suzuki's, then this is a perfect opportunity to bring awareness to others who don't have as small a footprint. Help them understand what they can do to improve the state of the earth.

A co-worker of mine argues that Earth Hour is a waste of time. I discussed his perspective in my latest article.
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DQN / March 29, 2009 at 11:28 am
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We also contributed to earth hour, but later. We turned off our lights at about midnight when we went to bed AND we left them off for the rest of the night, not just an hour! (We do that every night.) Mother Earth loves us for it and we feel SO connected to Her for having done it!
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