Earth Hour: Ignite the Light

 The hydro electricity that warms my apartment and provides light at night to save my shins from unwelcome coffee table encounters is my responsibility. Hence, turning lights off and lowering the electric heat when I go out have become automatic money savers for me. Some people engage in what has become an annual show of solidarity in what they believe to be an act of protection for the planet. A little less CO2 is good for you and me. For every breath you take hug a tree fed by CO2 exhaled by you and me. Hmmmmm.

This article asks if Earth Hour is worth the effort. The comments are worth reading.

Here is another that suggests renaming Earth Hour to Energy Hour.

Darkness is an appropriate symbol for the Green movement as they seek to curtail the use of  fossil fuels that power our economy. It serves as a reminder of what life was like before electricity and could be like again when all we have are wind farms and solar panels to depend on. Black is the new green. Darkness has always been a symbol of ignorance, evil and death. Turning off our lights for an hour is like a symbolic return to the dark ages, a period of extreme cold (snow fell in summer),  famine and disease. Is North Korea, an oppressive regime, a poster child of the Green movement as satellites regularly record the lack of light in the country at night? I am being facetious, of course, as AGW alarmists want the good life just like everyone else but they seem to want it to cost more green to go green. It is interesting that their attack on human induced CO2, a trace gas essential to life on Earth, can also be construed as an anti-life crusade. Ironically, CO2 is green as it contributes to enhanced plant growth - which means increased food production and forest prosperity. The policy objective of reduced CO2 emissions appears to be a counter-productive move for those concerned with providing biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels. CO2 is needed to grow them and the more the merrier but Greens want to reduce the CO2 needed to raise them. We now grow food to burn in our vehicles. How will people who cannot get enough to eat respond to this news? Does this make sense to you?


Every night is Earth Hour in North Korea

Greens like alternative energy sources because they believe that human induced CO2 is causing catastrophic anthropogenic climate change. In addition to biofuels they champion wind and solar as preferred energy sources. Those who do not know their history are condemned to repeat it and I guess we will have to relearn why wind was abandoned in the past as a viable source of power. It is unreliable and expensive. It is only available when the wind blows and then only when it doesn't blow too hard. The wind farms often have a gas powered backup in case the wind isn't blowing or is blowing too hard when the power that they are supposed to generate is required. They have also become known as 'Cuisinarts of the sky' for their penchant for slicing birds and sucking bats into their twirling windmill. Although they do not advocate the killing of our flying creatures it is a consequence of green policy. Ideas do have consequences. Modern wind turbines use rare earth elements which must be mined in ever larger quantities as the world adopts more wind power. China is the main source of rare earth metals. Apparently, the mining of rare earth is not environmentally friendly.

Both wind and solar must be heavily subsidized by the taxpayer as their disadvantages in comparison with fossil fuels make them an uneconomical alternative. These alternative energy sources remind me of the Luddite response to the loom. Like wind solar has some disadvantages. While solar can be used in small portable appliances fossil fuel remains Nature's best battery. It is portable and machines that use it can be easily recharged. We have control over it while we cannot control the wind or the amount of sun that we will get at any given time. We can plan for fossil fuel use and have it present on demand. This is a great advantage over wind and solar.

As we have learned over the years the predictions of CAGW alarmism have failed to materialize so CO2, a trace gas essential to life on Earth,  has been exonerated as a modern demon. This should be good news for now we can turn on our lights, turn up the heat, enjoy our a/c in the summer, fly to our preferred vacation destination and drive our SUVs without guilt. CO2 will help to ameliorate ozone damage to crops. Sounds like CO2 is our friend.

My preference during Earth hour will be to honor the scientists and engineers who have made our lives better by learning to harness Nature for the benefit of all mankind. They have brought us from darkness to light. Light is an emblem of knowledge, warmth, growth and a prerequisite for human progress. In the past, the winter solstice was celebrated with a festival of lights to signal an end to the long darkness and the beginning of longer days as the sun moved higher in the sky and stayed longer above the horizon.. In the past, this was seen as a boon to humans who could be more active and accomplish more than they could in the cold season. Choosing to celebrate contemporary life during earth hour my desired lights and appliances will be in use. Please join me and push back the darkness. During earth hour, ignite the light for better insight. Do not kid the grid. The planet is fine.