Yes I know, Earth Hour, the great environmentalist call to have everyone turn off their lights for one hour and go without power. Big Deal!
I see no point in this exercise. We live in a supply and demand economy and if I demand more power, then the power company should provide it. This is why I pay my hydro bill.
I feel that I done my part so far. I have mercury filled Compact-Florescent Lights in all of the lights that can use them; I’ve replaced my vacuum after being told you aren’t suppose to vacuum up broken CFL Bulbs. All of the thermostats in our house have been replaced, and I just put in a new “Green” Hot water heater.
We use timers on our lights, the kids don’t leave lights on when they are not in the room, all of our appliances are less than 3 years old and EnerGuide rated.
So far our savings from all of that… zero
We have not seen our hydro bill drop. We have not seen our water meter lower.
In fact we have lost money on this. I know we spent about $300 on new thermostats, $120 on new CFL bulbs, $150 on the vacuum, $300 for the new hot water tank. Add to that the cost of appliances and even with the “energy efficient” washer that uses less water and dryer that uses less electricity, my bills are the same number of Kilowatts as last year. My water is the same usage as last year. The fact that the electricity rate has gone up, and the water rate has gone up means we again, are not ahead but behind.
How many other people have gone out and purchased this stuff and realized the same thing?
Here’s what really cheeses me: We have the green nuts foo-fooing about Earth Hour but yet we have silence on using food stocks to make ethanol which is a zero gain energy. The emissions from making ethanol are the same as what is being saved by using it so it has the same carbon footprint, but is causing food prices to soar because it’s more profitable to the farmer to sell to ethanol plants. Nothing about that…
Nothing about the fact that many major cities in the US do not have recycling programs, but lets have everyone turn off their lights for an hour.
Nothing about the hypocritical Sierra Club types who slap a sticker on the back of their H3 saying they’re earth friendly.
My answer to all of this… I’m leaving my lights on.
During “Earth Hour” my response to the eco-nuts in my corner of the world will be having every light on; I’ll run the dishwasher, dryer, washer and oven. I’ll put every TV, computer, fan and toy. There will not be a plug that doesn’t have something in it and something turned on in this house.
I’ll still have to pay for it, but in this case I won’t mind a bit. I invite you to join me.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
