Earth Hour

So, Saturday,  people all over the world had an opportunity to feel good about themselves if they chose to participate in Earth Hour. For one hour some cities and individuals turned off some of their lights.

Big Fucking Deal.

It's not like this is anything more than symbolic. Wanna do something for the environment? You can. But you have to change your lifestyle, and not for one hour. It matters little if you believe in AGW or not, if you change your lifestyle, you can save money and reduce your carbon footprint. Turn off lights, use higher efficiency lighting, turn down your thermostat in winter and up in summer (programmable thermostats can be  had for as little as $20)

The thing is, you have to be MORE than just symbolic, or you are fooling yourselves. One hour out of 8766 (hours per year)  of reduced energy consumption is a nice gesture, but really it is meaningless.

Wanna do something that matters? Turn off every other (or even 2 out of three) streetlights in your town. Turn your thermostat up by 4 degrees on the summer and down by 4 degrees in winter. There are other things you can do...

Never happen. Most people will not sacrifice their feeling of security or their comfort.

So we are stuck with symbolic bullshit like "Earth Hour".