Shedding light on Earth Hour
So tonight is another of those namby pamby tree-hugging feel good events?
We are all supposed to sit around in the darkness for an hour during Earth Hour.
Why?
All my life, I have been a lover of nature. A few millennia ago I would probably have been a Druid. My concept of prayer is to ramble through a woodland or tramp the tops of the hills, marvelling at nature in all its glory. I love the mountains, the trees, the sea and everything in between.
In my time I have been a member of, or a supporter of many societies promoting bird protection, wildlife protection and the like. I even damned near joined the Green Party.
Over the years, these groups and societies gave become more vociferous and it has become ‘politically correct’ to hang onto their every word.
I have now reached the stage where I am sick to the fucking teeth hearing such words as ‘sustainable’, ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘green’. So much so, that I will denounce all their touchy feely efforts to ‘save the environment’.
Yesterday there was an item on the news. They are installing power points around Dublin for electric cars. We had nauseating film of that wanker Eamonn Ryan grinning into the camera as he spouted his bullshit about ‘clean and sustainable energy’. I felt sick.
Electric cars make a lot of sense. They are cheap to run, and the fuel will never run out. It even occurred to me that it would make sense for me to buy one. But I can’t. Buying one would make Ryan’s smirk even bigger and I would feel as though I was joining the ranks of the Eco-Nazis. They have degraded the whole business to an extent that I want to have nothing to do with them. I know this is illogical, but that’s the way it is.
I use those power saving bulbs around the house in strategic places. It has nothing to do with that cunt Gormless and his desire to save the world. I do it because they are cheaper to run and last longer. I try not to cut down trees on my land, not because I am worried about their CO2 absorption, but because I love trees. I turn off lights when they are not in use, not because I give a shit about my ‘carbon footprint’ but simply because it is illogical to pay for electricity when I don’t need to.
Tonight, as I said, we are supposed to switch off our lights for an hour to ‘increase awareness’ of Global fucking Warming or some such bilge. For fuck’s sake, it is rammed down our throats at every move so how is tripping over the dog in the darkness going to solve anything? It’s just another pathetic attempt to make us feel like we are doing something good, when all we are doing is inconveniencing ourselves.
If the government is so fucking concerned about the environment, why is Dublin [and all the other cities] lit up like a fucking football stadium every night? Why are buildings and bridges floodlit? When I was in France last year, I noticed that they switched off the street lights just after midnight. That struck me as not only saving a lot of energy but saving a shed load of money too. Who the fuck needs great swathes of motorway floodlit, when there is little or no traffic on them?
At eight tonight, I will give Earth Hour a thought; a simple thought –
Fuck off.
I’ve already planned on having the house here lit up like a christmas tree especially for earth hour. It might cost me a euro extra for the hour but I’m hoping it will be like a form of therapy.
Indeed, I shall be doing the same thing. My fear is that aircraft may think they are at Dublin Airport and may try to land here.
There’s a thought – Are the airports going to leave their lights off for an hour? Heh!
Boy am I with you on this one. Ever since I was a teenager I have wanted to power my home with solar and wind. This idea never had anything to do with being eco-friendly. It is my way to say Fuck You to the electric companies. My house shall also be lit up for our Earth Hour!
.-= Brianf´s last brainfart .. Idealism vol. 1 =-.
I’m paying for my electricity. I’m not turning it off for anyone. If there was a problem with me using electricity, then the proper thing to do is to raise the price of it – not to ask me to turn it off for an hour.
.-= Kae Verens´s last brainfart .. ToDo =-.
Good idea GD. I’ll be joining my one simple thought to your one simple thought at 9.pm. dutch time (8.pm yours). The clocks don’t go forward till 2.am, do they? Or is that next week? It’s this latest head cold *sniff* – I just can’t keep track… Maybe I’ll just go and howl at the moon instead.
.-= Geri Atric´s last brainfart .. MIND OVER MATTER! =-.
I swear if you said you were going to eat your own shit tonight your disciples would all write in and say they were going to as well.
Howya, Brianf! Maybe if we can get enough people involved we can get the Earth to shine like a super-nova in space? Now that would be worthwhile!
Kae – What the fuck?? You want them to raise the price of electricity? Get on outa here.
Geri – The clock are going forward at 1am tomorrow morning, except in this house. I never bothered my arse changing them last October so everyone is really just coming back to my time again.
TT – There are a couple of things you need to realise. For one thing, I have my finger on the pulse of popular opinion. For another, I am always right [except when I am wrong, which is an exceedingly rare event].
I’ll reduce my carbon footprint (whatever the fuck that is) when Politicians stop jetting around the globe to attend pointless conferences & “summits” .. which for all the good they ever do, could just as well be conducted via the Internet ..
As for electric cars .. OK, I suppose .. if you actually enjoy looking like a complete Tit, driving around in one of Noddy’s cast-offs ..
I vote we have a rolling series of powerdowns every time that fucker Bono deigns to give a press conference.
We might as well get something out of it.
Sure you are always right. That’s how you get to think when eveyone keeps telling you so. Except for yours truly of course.
Yep bit of a token gesture but I guess if it raises some awareness it doesn’t do much harm. There is a school of thought currently postulating that electric cars actually are bigger polluters than petrol or deisel because the electricity they use is largely coal powered. One of the biggest carbon emitting industries in the world. Solar is the way to go . . well here anyway . . might be a problem for you guys . . or what about fuel from the fish and chip shop! Apparently used cooking oil works too. Time to think outside the square!
When they make something official it’s time to move on to supporting another unsung cause.
Haddock – I agree. The hypocricy is mind boggling. It’s like Yer Man Gore spouting about global warming when it took a mini power station to power his house.
Con – Not only that, but maybe they could be arranged during his stage tours? How much power to U2 use on a single world tour? More that I do, I’ll bet!!
TT – You always telling me I’m wrong just convinces me I’m right. Thanks. 😉
Baino – Raise awareness of what? I think there are very few who aren’t aware at this stage, unless they are going to switch power off to all of China? Now there’s a constructive idea!
Garreth – The only cause I am interested in is the drive to eradicate all fucking causes. Care to join me?
Here here!! Well said Grandad!! No one could have voiced my opinion for me any better than yourself.
.-= Shannon´s last brainfart .. Memories =-.
Careful, Shannon – you may upset TT. He doesn’t like people agreeing with me.
Here’s a way to be good and to be grumpy at the same time. Go to bed at your normal time, turn out the lights when you’re ready and then when you wake up tomorrow, LEAVE THEM OFF ALL DAY !!!! Forget about a measley hour, you’ll be serving the green cause for twelve or thirteen hours !! You’ll be a hero. I have a patent pending on this brilliant scheme, but I’m letting you have it for free.
They want us to get used to the idea of doing without. And to give it up voluntarily.
I too, will take the appropriate action. –
All lights on, including Christmas decoration still outside.
Thermostat on 90, windows wide open.
Fridge door propped open.
Washer and dryer running, no clothes in them.
All hot water taps turned on full blare.
Though the neighbor won’t be happy when he gets his bill, I’m doing it to Save the Earth. – We certainly do need a change in climate.
The truth is the truth even if no one believes it, and a lie is a lie even if everyone believes it.
Grandad, I eagerly await the release of your
Book of Parables. I hear it’s quite enlightening.
Paulo – Thank you for your free sample. Even though it is against my principles, I may go along with it as it is an exceptionally good idea. Actually, I was going to prpose an idea of my own – why not combine Earth Hour with the clocks going forward? Earth Hour starts… clocks go forward…. Earth Hour ends. Everybody happy.
Quiet Reader – Where do I get the sneaking suspicion that you are robbing tips from my site? I like it though. I love that quote too. I don’t think I have come across it before. I should use it as a subtitle on the site! 😉
I was going to say “Hear hear”
and nothing more, but your cheeky server thingie told me it was too short and to say something useful, but I’m not going to say it now…
.-= Field Marshall SAm crea´s last brainfart .. Bring on the fear =-.
Baino: … You raise a couple of very valid points ..
Solar energy is never gonna work in the UK (not even with huge banks of batteries to store the energy from what little sunshine we do get) .. Wind power is too unpredictable & Wave power is too costly to harness ..
If one looks at the many hundreds, if not thousands of Fish & Chip shops, Chinese or Indian Restaurants and Take-Away’s in the UK .. plus the domestic users …
There must be trillions of gallons of used cooking oil going to waste every year ..
Surely, it wouldn’t take an “Einstein” to work out a safe, clean & economical method of converting that into usable fuel .. either for cars or for Power Stations ? ..
Or maybe there are vested interests at work to prevent that happening ? ..
Yes .. I know, I’ve been called a cynic many times before .. I however, consider myself a “Realist” ..
Grandad: … Talking of hypocrisy, have a look at this load of old bollocks from a bunch of “Eco-Loons” …
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1261251/Activists-jet-12-000-miles–climate-meeting.html
…”why not combine Earth Hour with the clocks going forward? Earth Hour starts… clocks go forward…. Earth Hour ends. Everybody happy.”
Now that’s just brilliant GD! Even TT will have to agree with that – surely?
.-= Geri Atric´s last brainfart .. MIND OVER MATTER! =-.
SAm – Shit! I thought I fixed that. Bugger! Now I have to open up the engine again.
Haddock – The fact that electricity has to be generated, mor often than not with fossil fuels doesn’t occur to them It is a case of ‘being seen to be doing something’ that is important, not what is actually done.
Haddock – That is a priceless example of the hypocricy of the Eco-crowd. They are like the Catholic Church – they just don’t get it.
Geri – I think even TT will find an argument there somewhere. That lad’s a genius.
Not so old man. I believe Shannon just proved my point.
No. Shannon is just a person of Taste and Discernment.