Where in the World Isn't Bob Saget?

Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
JenniferS said:
The power plants do not cycle down for that one hour, but continue to generate at their regular rate. Years ago, when Earth Hour was still a novel idea, the participation rate in Canada was very high. Literally hundreds of megawatts of energy were generated and had to be off-loaded or stored.

Then, there is the surge on the grid in the five minutes following the end of the hour, which can put a strain on the system, and cause increased emissions.

From a 2012 HuffPo article:
"I have three big problems with Earth Hour and the message it sends. First, some people are going to be very easily disillusioned when they find out that Earth Hour doesn’t actually do anything — on its own — to combat climate change. In fact, in places where lots of people participate, there might even be a small, temporary uptick in emissions. When fossil fuel power plants are forced to rapidly increase or decrease the amount of electricity they produce, they also produce more emissions, just as your car burns more gasoline if you’re rapidly accelerating and decelerating than if you maintain a constant speed.

So, when everybody turns the lights back on at the end of Earth Hour, it means that some coal and natural gas power plants will have to quickly work extra hard to meet that sudden increase in demand. In order to do that, they produce more emissions than they otherwise would have. Now, just as turning your lights off for an hour won’t save the planet, this short-term increase in the emissions output of a few power plants won’t seal our fate, either. Yet there is a real risk that discovering this fact will convince some people to mistrust any effort to get them to change their energy-use behavior."

I like Earth Hour - it's something we did as a family when the kids were little. Often my parents would come over and join us, so for me it's a pleasant nostalgic experience; but let's be honest - it's slacktivism at its finest.
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Oh, you Cananadians are such a hoot. Most of your electricity is hydro so unless you stop the flow of water (ain't nobody got time for dat) you will continue to generate electricity at no loss to the environment at all, eh. However, if it is your wish to sit in the dark for an hour pretending that you're saving the planet, who am I to stop you.
 
JenniferS

JenniferS

When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
Goofyernmost said:
Oh, you Cananadians are such a hoot. Most of your electricity is hydro so unless you stop the flow of water (ain't nobody got time for dat) you will continue to generate electricity at no loss to the environment at all, eh. However, if it is your wish to sit in the dark for an hour pretending that you're saving the planet, who am I to stop you.
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Sometimes good things happen in the dark.
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
unkadug said:
I'm not going to let that thread spoil this whole website for me; I had to unsubscribe from the doom and gloom of the ToT thread.

Surely Disney will see the err of their ways.
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Woke up very early today, and checked out the snow falling outside. That has nothing to do with your post, but thought I'd mention it just the same. It's springtime in New England. :p

I had a similar reaction to yours yesterday afternoon, about not wanting to read any more of the TOT thread; but of course, it just pulled me right back in there again this morning. :cautious: (I must be a glutton for punishment. ;) ) Bottom line (for me) is that despite the gloom and doom, I appreciate learning about what's coming down the road. Better to be informed.

My other thought is that I try to balance out all this information. The Disney management has made a (stupid) decision, and I'm not sure there's much we can do to reverse it (although I'd be happy to sign a petition, for example). I mean, I still enjoy the other three parks (even though they all have their issues as well). Yet, I'm going to WDW for 4 days in May. I'll be spending most of my time at the other three parks, as DHS has taken away too many of the things I enjoy, but I will definitely trek over there at some point to go on the originally-themed TOT at least twice--quickly, before they change it up!!!
 

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