Every Light In The House Will Be On

This Saturday is the day of the year when we are supposed to observe Earth Hour.

At 8:30 PM on Saturday 26th March 2011, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit to actions that go beyond the hour.

We are supposed to turn off all of our lights in order to demonstrate that we love our world; our earth.

Me?

Every light in the house will be on.

The idea that we are supposed to demonize the very thing that has brought such progress to our lives seems to be a bit opposite to how we live our lives.

Everything that we enjoy today we enjoy more and longer because of our energy.  The quality of life that we experience is directly tied to our harnessing and use of power.  We are who we are because of electricity.  We do what we do because of electricity.

I’m turning every light I have on:

The whole mentality around Earth Hour demonizes electricity. I cannot do that, instead I celebrate it and all that it has provided for humanity. Earth Hour celebrates ignorance, poverty and backwardness. By repudiating the greatest engine of liberation it becomes an hour devoted to anti-humanism. It encourages the sanctimonious gesture of turning off trivial appliances for a trivial amount of time, in deference to some ill-defined abstraction called “the Earth,” all the while hypocritically retaining the real benefits of continuous,
reliable electricity. People who see virtue in doing without electricity should shut off their fridge, stove, microwave, computer, water heater, lights, TV and all other appliances for a month, not an hour. And pop down to the cardiac unit at the hospital and shut the power off there too.
I don’t want to go back to nature. Travel to a zone hit by earthquakes, floods and hurricanes to see what it’s like to go back to nature. For humans, living in “nature” meant a short life span marked by violence, disease and ignorance. People who work for the end of poverty and relief from disease are fighting against nature. I hope they leave their lights on.

Go ahead.  Go to Japan.  Ask those folks without anything if they would rather go back to reading a book by the light provided by electricity while being warmed by heat supplied by oil and gas or if they’d rather …. you know, not.

9 responses to “Every Light In The House Will Be On

  1. Hey
    I think you miss the point of Earth Hour. It is meant to be symbolic for all of us here on our planet to find better ways to generate electricity, ways that do not do as much damage to our planet as coal fired power stations are supposed to do. Read my post at http://www.stufish7.wordpress.com for a different view on it all.
    Stuart

    • It is meant to be symbolic for all of us here on our planet to find better ways to generate electricity, ways that do not do as much damage to our planet as coal fired power stations are supposed to do.

      If THAT is your goal, then turn off all coal fired power stations. Run your hospitals, your airports, your websites with windmills.

  2. hmmmmm, it is not so much about turning off all coal fired power stations, but rather about looking for more climate friendly power generating systems for the future – a future not for us but for our children. It is not an overnight thing, but rather a ‘slow but sure’ changing of our ways approach.
    But I guess not everyone cares about the future of our planet……

  3. I’ll be joining you, Pino, turning on every piece of technology and innovation I own (“up to 11!”) in appreciation of what technology and innovation has brought us in terms of a better life.

    Everyone’s welcome to draw their own meaning from “Earth Hour”, and if it’s a positive and constructive one, then great, but for me this Hour campaign is nothing but a big brainwash and yet another outlet for the whacky left to appease their guilt over their addiction to consumption that they’re incredibly hypocritical for. They’re supposedly so hardcore about saving the planet, yet I’m betting that the only time they ever turn everything off is for that one hour, which is 0.00011416 of the total hours out of the year.

    It’s hypocritical, and it’s also ridiculous both in concept and how far the leftie loons take it. Imagine an alcoholic throwing one shot away or a smoker throwing one cigarette away out of 8,760 – which is the amount of hours in a year – then patting themselves on the back and praising themselves for the rest of the year having done the “right thing” only 0.011416% of the time.

    That would be ridiculous in itself, but more ridiculous is if after taking that one shot or one cigarette break, they continue on with the other 8,759 yet now go out and judge/lecture/preach to every other drinker and smoker on the planet who smokes/drinks the full 8,760 just because they now think that they’re somehow “better” than them. And what’s their reason for criticizing, judging, or preaching? It’s “Well, they obviously don’t care enough about their health”, or “I’m just trying to raise awareness”. Both are from a b.s. moral highround that I have yet to find anyone who truly deserves.

    I paid for all my electronics, and I also pay my utility bills in full and on time. My $hit is on and will stay on until I decide to turn it off.

  4. Well, that’s a little spiteful, but I agree with you that it does essentially nothing and that those who pursue hard-core environmental agendas tend to be hypocrites of the first order.

    • Well, that’s a little spiteful

      It is; I agree.

      those who pursue hard-core environmental agendas tend to be hypocrites of the first order.

      And there’s the rub.

      I wish a couple of rich liberals would form a company and fund solar installations in homes across America.

      My $hit is on and will stay on until I decide to turn it off.

      Good one ya!

    • Yes, however the spite is truly reserved for the hard-core hypocrites. I don’t think Earth Hour is a bad thing in itself. Awareness is good. However, I had four people this weekend do an “OMG!” when I told them I wasn’t going to turn anything off, followed by a “How could you?!” lecture. Three of them own big screen TV’s, two drive SUV’s. Only one of them truly walked their talk.

      As spiteful as my reply sounded, it was actually a little tongue-in-cheek. In response I told her I would remove every bit of clothing I had on in the restaurant that had something to do with poor environmental practices or slave labor, if she would do the same.

  5. I generally don’t follow things like that — I’ll not turn my lights off, but I certainly won’t go turning every light on just to spite those who want to increase consciousness of energy use (I certainly don’t see most of them as demonizing electricity). If turning all lights off demonizes electricity, then turning them all on demonizes conservation attempts. I think both sides actually appreciate both electricity and conservation.

  6. I feel so bad that I missed this . At that time I was on my way to a fire company to listen to an oldies rock band . Does burning gasoline to get there and having the place lit up like a firehouse while the band has their amps cranked up, qualify as environmentally friendly ? No, well does converting pitchers of beer into natural fertilizer qualify, yes I thought so .

    Right now I am enjoying the heat from my coal stove, because freaking climate change is going the other way and our Pennsylvania winter will not end . Well got to go out into the cold now . Got to environmentally dispose of another tree rat stuck in my humane trap, which my animal rights neighbor sent the cops to my house previously for using . Shhh, don’t tell her.

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