two things that may or may not be related

[arisha]

1) I am not a fan of Earth Hour because, in my opinion, it encourages people to feel like they are doing something to help the environment when they are not actually doing anything of the sort. I tend to dislike symbolic acts in general, but another reason I hold this opinion is because I spent my first Earth Hour sitting at work, listening to guests tell me that they'd been bored sitting at home with all the electronics off, so they got in their car and drove to the movie theatre. Wow, guys, you're a regular ol' Captain Planet over there!

2) I am very frustrated that we hear so much about the need to save energy and resources and everything like that, and yet just as many houses this year are decked out from top to bottom in Christmas lights. I am very frustrated that I can look out the window at four in the morning and see that these unnecessary lights have been left on all night.

Comments

[spakadoodle.livejournal.com]

I participate in Earth Hour, because to me it's a symbolic gesture of promising to change. When I first participated, it was because I wanted to change my energy-wasting ways.

This year we went out and bought new LED Christmas lights, which use tons less energy, to deck out our tree and front porch with (and they only stay on for a few hours, pretty much as long as the porch light stays on, as they're connected). There's a place around here that recycles the old lights, so we brought them there.

All the lights in the house have been switched for lower-energy bulbs. When our washer died we bought an HE front loader that uses way less water. We have two composters in the back yard and recycle far more than we ever throw out.

Earth Hour is good... but make every day count, as well!

[lysanderpuck.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of a hypocrite because I really want to go green, but I really fucking love string lights haha ;_; They just make me SO HAPPY.

Though Earth Hour does kind of annoy me...on campus, there's a building that the lights are automated so the ONLY WAY TO TURN THEM OFF IS TO COVER THE WINDOWS (we think. No one's actually sure how to turn them off -- even our Office of Sustainability doesn't know how to.) So this building is on 24/7. wtf why? And it's not just the one, either. The theatre building is also on 24/7, and I know that majors have swipe access 24 hours a day but that means leave a couple of lights on so they can get to the computer lab/drafting room, not the entire damn building.

And for ~Earth Hour~ they turn the lights off the Dome and the Basilica...I understand that the Dome is a navigational point so it needs to be visible for planes, but I'm pretty sure we can turn the Basilica off all the time. I know it's pretty, but damn, Notre Dame. I like how you're trying to go green and still use SO MUCH ELECTRICITY.

[arisha.livejournal.com]

hahaha, if we're going to talk about hypocrisy, then I am a total hypocrite just for making this post! xD I know I don't do half as much for the environment as I could.

That is totally bizarre about the building with the automated lights! I used to get kind of frustrated with my campus too, for claiming to be all green and then leaving unnecessary lights on all night, but my workplace is even worse. D:

I like how you're trying to go green and still use SO MUCH ELECTRICITY.

hahaha YES, this is exactly what I was getting at! xD