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

[Kerry Dawborn]

Hi Graeme,

I take your point. I didn't know that about power stations not scaling 
back production according to demand, so that turning things off and 
using efficient globes and appliances, unless it's en masse and over 
long periods, does'nt reduce greenhouse emissions because the coalfired 
plants are still producing them, and emissions from this won't change 
until we start shutting them down...

I agree that there is value in showing ourselves and others that we can 
manage fine with less power use. Perhaps there is a case for planned 
'brown-outs' or even blackouts - with the plants powering down for a 
time if this can be done for benefit? It seems very wasteful to keep the 
things running at capacity day and night, regardless of demand... And 
wouldn't it be nice to see the night sky in our cities clearly, 
unpolluted by all those neon and other unnecessary lights (apart from 
streetlights perhaps...)?

I certainly won't be sitting back during earth hour, satisfied that I've 
done my bit to reduce emissions. I am well aware that it is just a token 
effort - more's the pity that if what you say is true, as I'm sure it 
is, a lot of people out there will be believing as I did, that we would 
be making an actual contribution to less emissions. I agree that a good 
use of Earth Hour would be to use the time and opportunity to raise 
awareness (of the truth) and develop strategies for making a REAL 
difference....

cheers,

Kerry

Graeme George wrote:
> 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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