[Pil-pc-oceania] [Fwd from Kerry Dawborn: Earth Hour 2008 - please be part of a simple global action]

[Graeme George]

Dear Kerry, and every-one else planning to participate in Earth Hour  
next Saturday.

Please be aware that your light globe, electric jug or toaster doesn't  
produce ANY greenhouse gases when you switch them on, so switching off  
your lights, or not using your electric appliances for an hour won't  
save any GH gas emissions. Green house gases are produced at the power  
station when carbon-based fuels are burnt to heat the boilers that  
provide the steam to run the turbines that generate the electricity  
that is used to keep the grid fully charged so it can be drawn upon  
when consumers switch on an appliance.

We had this discussion this time last year after media claims about  
all the greenhouse gases that had been saved during Earth Hour. At  
that time no-one provided any convincing evidence that any power  
generators were able to scale back their emissions for that hour, as  
it takes hours to crank the turbines up and to shut them down again  
when maintenance is needed. Shutting off a hydro plant may be feasible  
at times of low demand, but hydro-electricity doesn't produce GH  
gases. I argued then that we may well have produced EXTRA GH gases by  
burning thousands of candles during that period.

The value in participating in Earth Hour is in the personal and  
collective demonstration that it is possible to be quite comfortable  
if we cut back, or totally stop our use of electricity for short  
periods.  However, to have any effect on GH gas production the  
symbolic action of participating in Earth Hour needs to be translated  
into an ongoing everyday commitment to reduce our power consumption  
across all aspects of society.

We know we'll have made some progress when the first coal-fired power  
station is de-commissioned. That is likely to be some way off. Here in  
Victoria there is a proposal on the board to build a new "clean coal"  
power station in the Latrobe Valley, with massive Federal and State  
Government subsidies. Brown coal is the dirtiest fuel we use. This  
"efficient" brown coal plant will be no better than existing black  
coal generators in other states and the existing generators will  
continue to operate to meet the growing demand for electricity, so our  
total GH gas emissions will actually continue to increase.

So, let's be realistic and use the Earth Hour to come up with some  
long-term action plans to reduce our power consumption and not sit  
back satisfied that one hour a year is all we need to do. And please,  
no statistics about how much GH gas we "save" next Saturday night !


Regards

Graeme



On 25/03/2008, at 11:49 AM, Kerry Dawborn wrote:

>
> Hi Friends,
>
> I'm writing this with the message below, to remind you about Earth  
> Hour, which is happening this Saturday March 29th - an opportunity  
> for all of us to participate in reducing our emissions, and show  
> that it really is possible and do-able to take meaningful action on  
> Global Warming. By turning off our lights en masse for an hour,  
> sure, we'll stop producing harmful emissions from electricity during  
> that time, which is valuable, but perhaps even more importantly, if  
> enough of us do it this is a way we can send a message to  
> governments, corporations, and each other, that THIS MATTERS TO US!  
> That we WANT TO SEE AND WILL SUPPORT and participate in meaningful  
> action to curb global warming.
> It has been suggested to me that there is a level of hypocrisy in  
> making a big deal about turning off lights for an hour, while we  
> allow damaging consumerism-driven economic growth to continue  
> unabated - while we continue to routinely buy food and other  
> products produced and transported over long distances by oil-hungry  
> and polluting technologies and engage in other unsustainable ways of  
> living - and there is truth in this I think. However, we must begin  
> somewhere, and perhaps if we take Earth Hour seriously, and  
> encourage others to do so, and talk about our participation and why  
> it is important to us with others, we can show that even though we  
> might not have figured out how to make the big changes that may be  
> necessary, we are looking for leadership and support on this from  
> our government and the wider community, and are ready to begin  
> moving towards a sustainable, equitable future. Furthermore, I for  
> one would like to acknowledge that it isn't necessarily easy for any  
> one individual to make big changes. We are all trying to get by  
> within economic, transportation and other systems and ways of  
> thinking that were designed for a time of plentiful oil and little  
> awareness or concern for climate change and other pollution issues.  
> We continue to be constrained by those systems, because they change  
> slowly and often reluctantly, yet still they are powerful in our  
> lives. So for those of us who feel stuck in a way of living that we  
> know is unsustainable yet we cannot yet get our heads around how to  
> make change, Earth Hour is a simple start, and a way to send a  
> message asking for assistance and leadership.
>
> So, please consider turning off your lights for an hour at 8pm this  
> Saturday evening, and encouraging and supporting your friends and  
> loved ones, your work mates, your work places (wouldn't it be  
> amazing if all melbourne's neon lights went off for an hour!!!!!),  
> to do the same. Imagine the powerful message a pure, dark night sky  
> over your region, your city, your town, your suburb, your street,  
> could send!
>
> Best wishes to you all,
>
> Kerry Dawborn
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