Thanks to Pat Kenschaft for the tip:
A worldwide Earth Hour is scheduled for this Saturday evening at 8:00 PM, when everyone is urged to turn all the lights off for an hour to conserve energy and prevent climate change.
Down Under, where they’re always first on the world clock, this is how it looked.
Now, tell us (if you dare) what you’ll be doing when the lights are out…

25 replies on “Baristaville: Turn Off Your Lights!”

  1. Good thing my castle runs on Nuclear power.
    No emissions.
    (But my cat does glow in the dark.)

  2. Light a few candles….and hug someone….then, hope enough people do this to send the right message.

  4. I’m not really sure how effective the message of conservation is from this. A side benefit might be more awareness of light pollution. If enough light is squelched, maybe more will see what the night sky is kind of supposed to look like. When was the last time you saw the “fingers” of our galaxy? (not that it would be that dark tonight). I believe it’s a minimum hour and a half drive now just to get close to that view.

  5. Over the centuries I’ve wasted posting on this site, I have grown quite fond of the nutty professor. Indeed, what message. The message of empty platitudes everywhere!

  6. Hey Prof..this is from another story, but might tell you what the message is.
    SYDNEY, Australia (March 29) – The iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge went dark Saturday night as Sydney became the world’s first major city to turn off its lights for this year’s Earth Hour, a global campaign to raise awareness about climate change.
    Thousands of homes were dark for an hour in Christchurch, New Zealand. The famed Wat Arun Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand switched off its lights.
    The three major cities were among 23 worldwide, along with 300 smaller towns, taking part in Earth Hour – a campaign by environmental group WWF to highlight the need to conserve energy and fight global warming.
    “This provides an extraordinary symbol and an indication that we can be part of the solution” to global warming, Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett told Sky News television, standing across the harbor from the dark silhouette of the Opera House.
    Garrett said government offices and national monuments around the country took part in Earth Hour.
    “We’re not only talking the talk, we’re walking the walk,” he said. “Whatever your view is about the magnitude of the problem … we can save money by using energy wisely and efficiently, and that gives us the added bonus of reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”

  10. this is stupid. i’m turning all my lights on for the hour.
    anti-environment you say? it’s ok i buy carbon credits from Al Gore.
    I wish people would stop listening to junk science and actually do something that is actually effective and not just a feel-good showoff.

  11. Turning your power off at 8 is a token gesture. But if the power company sees how many people turn their power off that may be a wake up signal to them.
    I have been doing my part to reduce my electrical consumption. I have put big appliances on power strips so when I’m not use them I can power them down completely and I use CFLs. It’s a start.

  12. Not to beat the horse, Mike, but what “wake up signal” are they going to get?
    What message are you sending? That via the web you can get folks to do some token activity?
    Perhaps you should wire up a solar panel and get off the grid– that will really show ’em!
    I’ve changed bulbs, put in timers and power strips, but the truth is if you really care, you will support Nuclear Power.
    Because right now, it is the only real alternative to coal burning electrical plants.

  13. Oh laserinfant, you’re so dedicated. So pure. So stuffed full of yourself. So prone to see yourself as virtuous. (And “progressive,” of course.)
    Why would you need much electicity at any time, mikeypal? I doubt very much you ever entertain, you betray very little interest in popular music or films or, gosharoonie, TV,and you can heat your meager bowls of gruel over a wood fire and wring out your environmentally okay hairshirt in cold water..

  14. My lights were out and we sat in the dark, and talked about how the world could be a better place if everyone tried to consume less energy. We vowed to do our part once we emerged from the darkness.
    When I turned my lights back on, I noticed that we’d been robbed.

  16. We lits candles and read to the kids with a flashlight. My daughter said something about the earth being happier since we were using less energy. At least the kids get it.

  17. PAZ, I don’t want waste in my cellar, but nuclear has worked quite well in France, Britain, Germany for a long time.
    Are they smarter than Americans? I don’t think so.
    We Irish don’t need it. We burn Guinness, so we’re good for centuries.

  18. We went to Best Buy – which did NOT power down for Earth Hour – & pranced with mad abandon amongst all the wattage being sucked to power a thousand marvelous devices.
    Then we bought several of those devices so that we could suck a little more for ourselves.
    Just doing our part to stimulate the economy.

  19. i turned off the lights and dragged mrs iceman by the hair into my cave and fell asleep after 3 minutes. i’m ready for a camel and a can of pabst.

  20. oops, missed it. Now if only I had kept my computer on all weekend I would have been able to turn off the lights for an hour. shucks.

  22. I kept the lights off all night, but drained my oil lamps in the process. Anyone know where I can get refills of baby harp seal blubber?

  23. So what was the result? Happier people all over the world?
    Goody. That’s nice. I’m very happy for them. Why not just leave the lights off all the time and then they’d be happier all the more?

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