Maybe people are too worried about money to worry about wasting energy. There’s some irony there, I reckon.

Here’s an interesting item: Ontarians consume 50% more energy per capita than New York State residents. PDF Source; see page 10.

JB

First, suggest they fill up a bathtub or plug up a sink. Let it overflow so there’s a goodly amount of water. Stuff towels or some other handy piece of cloth under doorjambs if necessary. It’s important that there’s enough water.

Second, they should remove any footwear or clothing (if they opt for the tub). People can even do this as a group to show solidarity (oops, wrong word). A great way to get closer to old friends or make new ones.

Third, take one of those electrical appliances. Make sure it’s plugged into an electrical outlet securely. Drop the appliance or do-hickey into the water – making sure the electrical elements touch the water as well.

The light show will surely impress the neighbours. It will send a message to those durned lefties that they won’t soon forget. It might even short out an entire neighbourhood. If enough people do it, imagine the message that would send – especially if it shuts down the whole eastern grid! Wow! Imagine the fun.

This method will expend a lot more power than simply turning everything on. It may also be therapeutic for some, saving a trip to the local loony… uh, clinic… for those regular shock treatments. A-n-nd… it’ll cut back on costly gasoline use while also cutting down on carbon emissions.

A real do-it-yerself’er!

Feel free to pass it on.

Actually, Peter, a real Conservative would recognize Earth Hour as an attempt by energy conservationists to encourage their fellow citizens to take responsibility for their own behaviour in terms of energy consumption. There’s really nothing socialist OR Big Brother-ish about it. It’s about individual actions at the grassroots level effecting change.

Here in small town Ontariariario, we get useta power outages — even when yer livin’ in the shadow of the Nanticoke Generating Station. I hafta reset the clocks about 6x a year anyways. One more time ain’t gonna hurt much, sez I.

Reason I’m a bit cynical on Earth Hour is I get the impression some folks think if they turn off their lights fer an hour a year, they’re actually making some difference vis-a-vis savin’ the planet. I reckon symbolism is a little beyond some folks.

I also am a little concerned with the message that conservation involves freezing in the dark. There are far more effective and less inconvenient ways to use less energy than to turn off everything for an hour a year and then carry on with the usual wasteful practices the rest of the time.

Earth Hour can be fun and informative and I’m maybe a curmudgeon but I’ll do my bit on Saturday night. And, man-o-man, do I ever figger that them Small Dead Anti-Earthers is about as anti-conservative as they can get. Wanton waste does not equal conservatism in anybody’s dictionary.

JB