Drake 53 Posted March 24, 2008 http://www.earthhour.org/ My dad mentioned this to me today. March 29 (Sat.) at 8pm, people around the world will be turning off their lights for one hour to help raise awareness on climate change and energy conservation. Last year, this was held in Sydney, Australia where 2.2 million people switched their lights off and reduced the energy consumption of Australia by 10% and stopped a whopping 250 000 tonnes of carbon emissions from being produced! Imagine how much a wave of darkness sweeping across the planet would save. Now, it's only officially planned for 20 major world cities but every household can make a difference. So tell your family and friends to turn off their lights from 8-9pm (for every timezone) on March 29th! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mara 29 Posted March 24, 2008 Just lights, or all electricity? 'Cause THAT would really make a difference... But I could never get my dad to turn his computer off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake 53 Posted March 24, 2008 Well yeah, as many electronic devices that you can live without for a whole hour. Maybe just trip the breaker or something. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mara 29 Posted March 24, 2008 Haha... The breaker box has faded labels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake 53 Posted March 24, 2008 So switch them all off. Use less power. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mara 29 Posted March 24, 2008 Yeah.... and then call the police to find my mutilated body because my dad couldn't watch his sports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radioactive Isotope 29 Posted March 24, 2008 at least you would have helped conserve energy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake 53 Posted March 24, 2008 You would die for a good cause. You would be a hero. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy 60 Posted March 24, 2008 Yeah, and imagine the extra load on the power plants when everybody turns them all back on at the same time after an hour... Which would pretty much cancel out the savings :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bad furday 57 Posted March 24, 2008 *gives B the Voice of Reason Award* :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake 53 Posted March 24, 2008 (edited) Yeah, and imagine the extra load on the power plants when everybody turns them all back on at the same time after an hour... Which would pretty much cancel out the savings My dad actually works at the nuclear power station near where I live and he says that the power regulation process is all automated and won't be affected. Edited March 24, 2008 by Drake Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mara 29 Posted March 24, 2008 You would die for a good cause. You would be a hero. Well, in that case... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy 60 Posted March 25, 2008 Yeah, and imagine the extra load on the power plants when everybody turns them all back on at the same time after an hour... Which would pretty much cancel out the savings My dad actually works at the nuclear power station near where I live and he says that the power regulation process is all automated and won't be affected. Nuclear plants are more efficient, and are very low on pollution anyways because they don't burn fossil fuels. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake 53 Posted March 25, 2008 That they are. I would also imagine (or hope) that the computer systems regulating the flow of energy in all the other power stations would be similar to those in nuclear plants since that part is the same regardless of the differences in how that energy got there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy 60 Posted March 27, 2008 That they are. I would also imagine (or hope) that the computer systems regulating the flow of energy in all the other power stations would be similar to those in nuclear plants since that part is the same regardless of the differences in how that energy got there. I dunno, it's been a while but we learnt about power plants, but I believe that the cool-down and warm-up times for power generation would eat up most of that hour anyways, given the age (and therefore lower-tech) of the majority of plants. However, the real idea behind Earth Hour is to show that it's possible to save this power - possibly inspiring peopel to cut down their usage long-term. ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bad furday 57 Posted March 28, 2008 I suppose I could be away from GB for an hour... ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mara 29 Posted March 28, 2008 Are you even ever here for more than a hour? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aurelius 1 Posted May 10, 2008 Hey, it's actually quite cool seeing all the lights off in the city. Although people get a little bit crazy! And hey I even left my lights on at home just in case you guys missed me :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake 53 Posted March 30, 2009 This year's Earth Hour was on Saturday. My dad said that they had to shut down one of the nuclear reactors at his work because they were making too much power. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mara 29 Posted March 30, 2009 I kind of forgot about it. Maybe that's why we lost power for an hour and a half Sunday night. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy 60 Posted March 30, 2009 (edited) I didn't know anything about it again. But I'm annoyed at the moment because they only seem to sell energy saving lightbulbs these days; and I think the only reason they save energy is because they are about as bright as a friggin candle. :mad: Edited March 30, 2009 by Andy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tsl 7 Posted March 31, 2009 those spirally ones? They kinda start off darker, but they brighten up once they warm up. I think they're like fluorescent, aren't they? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy 60 Posted March 31, 2009 Well mine aren't spirally, but I guess they are the same... They seem to take ages to warm up though... and they just aren't as bright as normal bulbs anyway. I'm saving up old bulbs we have that still work, for the living room, cos its a really dark room and the stupid bulbs will be rubbish lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake 53 Posted March 31, 2009 I find that the fluorescent power-saving bulbs are brighter than the incandescent ones. Maybe the UK doesn't care about energy efficiency enough. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy 60 Posted March 31, 2009 Well the ones I have don't seem to be as bright as a standard 60W bulb... And I can't find any that are equivalent to a 100W bulb, which is what we prefer to use in our darker rooms. Guess we'll have to install more light fittings and use more bulbs! :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
