Comments on Crunchy Chicken: If you plan on doing Earth Hour

KENSINGTON'S EARTH HOUR ENDS IN TRAGEDY

2009-03-28T04:23:00.000-07:00
KENSINGTON'S EARTH HOUR ENDS IN TRAGEDY

Earth Hour was observed last night throughout Maryland when residents turned their house lights off for one hour to "vote for the Earth" by saving electricity. But events took a tragic turn in Kensington when residents there went one step further and turned their car lights off as well.

Described by officials as the largest series of multiple vehicle accidents in Maryland history, collisions involving as many as five cars at a time were reported at intersections throughout the city. There were also a number of collisions with houses, caused when vehicles ran off the road into nearby homes. At last report there were several injuries, none of them critical, but no fatalities.

Kensington's volunteer fire department has received assistance from other fire departments in the area to control the numerous fires caused by the accidents. Fire Chief Ned Spaekely reported this morning that he expected all the fires would be extinguished or under control by the evening. He indicated that his department would be applying for federal funding to repair or replace the four firetrucks that were damaged by collisions with fervent Earth Hour celebrants.

Damage to homes and businesses in the city was extensive, with Kensington's "Antique Row" taking the brunt of the night's destruction. "It's a total loss," said mayor Pete Fosselman, whose own home in town was almost totally destroyed by an off road collision with a Chevy Suburban.
"I think that next year, we'll just stick with the street banners," he said.

I like the idea of world wide solidarity, as well ...

2009-03-27T23:37:00.000-07:00

I like the idea of world wide solidarity, as well as the WWF plans to take the final numbers to the next climate hearings as a global response to climate change is decided. The WWF is attempting to created a spectacle. We the citizens of the planet do care.

See the video:
Alanis Morissette clips toenails for Earth Hour http://www.examiner.com/x-4002-Milwaukee-Green-Living-Examiner~y2009m3d16-Alanis-Morissette-clips-toenails-for-Earth-Hour

I was just planning to take a nap for an hour, wit...

2009-03-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

I was just planning to take a nap for an hour, with the reduced lighting I think that would be a bit easier.

Anon:

One last question for you -- how exac...

2009-03-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

Anon:

One last question for you -- how exactly do I Vote Earth? Do I need to register? Is Earth running unopposed or can I Vote Mars or Vote Saturn too? Does Earth have a policy platform? I want to know where exactly where Earth stands on the important issues of the day. Does Earth have any thoughts on the financial problems we are in now? Is Earth planning on going on Leno anytime soon?

Vote Earth is a nice little marketing line, but that's about it. Sorry to all of you who are excited by this but it completely escapes me. This seems to be little more than just a lot of bustle that accomplishes absolutely nothing. Worse, it might give one billion (!) people the idea that they've actually accomplished something. That's bad because people are lazy and busy and if they think they've already done their part for Earth with their "vote" they are less likely, not more, to take actual action that might bring real change.

One billion people turning off their lights for an hour is just one hour of darkness. One quarter billion people writing letters to their elected officials would send a strong message.

Color me concerned, but I much prefer the challenges here on the Chickenista web site where Crunchonella asks everyone to actually DO something important and lasting. Those challenges change behavior. One hour doesn't.

Anon:

I'm afraid that I still don't underst...

2009-03-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Anon:

I'm afraid that I still don't understand. I'm slow that way. How will the people in Copenhagen know that I've turned out my lights? I can't find anything on the web site to explain this.

I'm all for sending a message. Just not sure that this is the best way. Or even a way.

However, let me say that I am all for everyone turning out their lights on the 28th as it is my birthday and I've convinced the boy child that people all over the world are turning out their lights for an hour to wish me happy birthday. ;-) I'm calling it Bucky Hour!. Although much like Earth Hour! I'll have no way of knowing if anyone does it or not.

Hi All,

The reason we do Earth Hour, if you...

2009-03-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

The reason we do Earth Hour, if you look more closely at www.earthhour.org, is not to save energy for one hour.

WWF and all involved are more than aware that an hour - even 1 billion people doing it for an hour - won't save enough coal-powered electricity to save the planet. That's the point!

The point is that not enough people are doing enough on a daily basis. The point is that stronger action needs to be taken!

Governments and companies around the world aren't making large-scale change and neither are everyday people.. EARTH HOUR IS A WAY TO SEND A MESSAGE THAT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING URGENTLY. That governments and industry need to start reducing their emissions and offering products and services that help us to reduce ours.

Just check these out and tell me you really don't want to turn your lights out this Saturday.

Vote Earth

I'm Just One Person

Even the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon supports the Earth Hour effort because he believes that public support will be the only way that the talks in Copenhagen will lead to a fair, effective and meaningful deal.

Earth Hour is about all of us, coming together, and voting for a healthy planet - and against global warming in time for it to make a difference.

Please! Vote Earth with us.

Well written comment, Willa. :) I disagree. It can...

2009-03-16T23:46:00.000-07:00

Well written comment, Willa. :) I disagree. It can hurt because we just don't have time to waste on empty, feel good action. If this were the 70's and people were doing Earth Hour, I'd say more power(hee!) to ya. But it's years later and we have yet to truly change our ways. It can hurt because the people/organizations/companies who are promoting events like this should know better.

I have felt soundly spanked, put in my place, depressed, horrified, defenseless, ignorant, lagging behind in knowledge and skills many times reading many different blogs, articles and books. I still go on and do my best. Other will too. :) That is, they will if we have any chance at weathering the enviroshitstorm at all.

You know, if I were someone just coming to the ide...

2009-03-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

You know, if I were someone just coming to the idea of conserving energy, and I was excited about my first venture into activism, turning off my lights for an hour- I would certainly feel soundly spanked and put in my place by many of you. I might, in fact, feel like I was really stupid to think that something I could do right now could make a difference of any kind. And I might just go away feeling depressed, and powerless.

So it's a flawed idea- not everyone is in the same place, and if this could be a springboard to greater activism, how can it hurt?

The new Vote Earth 2009 global website has launche...

2009-03-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

The new Vote Earth 2009 global website has launched. There is an element on the site that incorporates Google’s Friend Connect and we want to get 1 billion people on the site by November before Copenhagen. A big ask, so we need some help.

To get involved, all you need to do is:
1. Go to the site - www.voteearth2009.org
2. Register with Friend Connect
3. Send to a friend and get more people to sign up.

We need to get as many people as we can involved. So please encourage your friends to get involved.

Get involved and VOTE EARTH!

Buckster - Who needs testicles these days anyway? ...

2009-03-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Buckster - Who needs testicles these days anyway? I've lived my whole life without them and it hasn't affected me at all.

Aside from the whole power company / electrical shutdown issue, I don't get this "vote" thing. I understand the visibility of large buildings in NYC turning off their lights, but are the promoters going to be comparing satellite photos of Friday vs. Saturday vs. Sunday to see how many people "voted" by turning off their lights?

Should I expect Santa to fly through the neighborhoods from East to West, checking on the lighting situation. And, will Santa confuse my yard waste bonfire in the fireplace as being a CFL, a halogen, an LED or an incandescant?

Or should I really trim up the shrubs in preparation for Edward Norton, as the official Earth Hour Ambassador, stopping by to check on my lighting choices? If I'm going to get an official visit, I'll make sure to stick to urinating in the front yard only to make sure I don't miss him. That would be a travesty.

Greenpa - I'm not sure I can justify flying out to the midwest even though my pole dancing skills are quite extraordinary and I really could teach you people a thing or two.

WOW.

Just got in and if the emails in my in...

2009-03-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

WOW.

Just got in and if the emails in my inbox are any indication, people take their Earth Hour! very, very seriously.

[Lilly -- Back off bitch. You've got issues. Seek help.]

For the record: I don't hate the earth. And I adore Ms. C. Chicken. And I don't work for some utility company hell-bent on destroying the planet. I know that climate change is real and serious. I don't eat small children for breakfast. And I don't get paid for promoting the interests of big oil.

Calm down people.

I just don't get the "Vote Earth" thing being promoted through the Earth Hour!. I don't understand what it is trying to accomplish beyond one hour of darkness.

I'm like that.

To me, it seems like much sturm und drang that doesn't accomplish much. But I'm very happy that others are excited and hope that it will raise awareness of the problems we face.

I like to imagine that Ms. Chicken's readers are an enlightened group and don't need their awareness raised much. One of the things that I've always deeply admired about Ms. C is that she puts words into actions and forces people to step up. Her accomplishments are legend. And if she thinks that Earth Hour! is important, perhaps I need to rethink my position. And if everyone is excited by Earth Hour! then by all means enjoy yourselves.

But please, just leave your desire to cut off my testicles out of the angry emails.

The boys are rather sensitive about such things.

Much appreciated.

Bux

I am going to use some edible soy candles I found ...

2009-03-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

I am going to use some edible soy candles I found ;)

thanks for the levity, everyone...I needed that......

2009-03-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

thanks for the levity, everyone...I needed that...

Alpaca porn, eh? Actually, I was researching the ...

2009-03-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

Alpaca porn, eh? Actually, I was researching the various aspects of "fleece".

In preparation for our big Happy Earth Hour here, Crunchy has volunteered to come and lead a pole dancing challenge, up on my Polka Dot Gallows.

Bottomless, of course, in keeping with the fleece theme, and with her chits available. All murkily lit by solar powered LEDs.

Just a little promo teaser for our big Picnic for the Planet bonfire, on June 21.

Thanks, Your Dampness! :-)

It is not about saving energy, it is about sending...

2009-03-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

It is not about saving energy, it is about sending a strong signal to politcal leaders in this year of the Copenhagen deal that there is public support for a strong global agreement; at the moment they are frightened it might make them unpopular

I will definitely be doing Earth Hour. Last year, ...

2009-03-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

I will definitely be doing Earth Hour. Last year, I did in fact use my regular, paraffin candles...but I was a noob then, don't be hatin', I just didn't know better! Since that time, I have begun making my own beeswax candles, so I will use those instead. Thanks for the reminder.

@Anon

Call me crazy, but what if someone...

2009-03-13T04:17:00.000-07:00
@Anon

Call me crazy, but what if someone from Earth Hour/WWF were to actually SPEAK TO THE POWER COMPANIES beforehand and get them to reduce their output for 60 minutes to coincide with the event?

Imagine that!

Hey there Crazy! Nice to meet you.

Okay, I'm squeezing my eyes shut really, really hard and I'm imagining someone coordinating with the power companies ... imagining ... imagining squeezing my eyes harder ... imagining ...

Nope. I tried imagining that it would make a difference, Crazy. I promise I did. But no matter how much I imagined, it still didn't change the basic laws of physics. Maybe I need an extra big sprinkle of magic Earth Hour! fairy dust?

Crazy, I thought that I had explained this in my original comment, but perhaps I wasn't clear enough. So I'll try again.

You see, Crazy, our electricity is produced by these very, very big generators. Ginormous. Bigger than your house! Way bigger. Most of these very big generators are powered by burning some type of fossil fuel (mostly coal in the US, with natural gas a distant second).

It is possible, Crazy, that you think of these power plants as somewhat akin to the little gas powered generators that you buy from Home Depot. Don't. That would be, well, just crazy!

The power plants that the utility companies build are big complicated systems. They require precise temperatures and pressures. It's all very complicated and requires science and hard stuff like that. But trust me on this.

So, Crazy, because it is a large complicated system that is finely tuned to operate at peak efficiency within a narrow set of parameters, it can't be quickly shut down and then turned back on. Seems crazy doesn't it? But that's just how it is, with all that complicated science and stuff.

I know, Crazy, that one whole entire hour might seem like a really, really long time in magic Earth Hour! fairy land, but in the real world of power generation it just isn't.

If it was Earth Day! or even Earth Afternoon! that might work. But just one hour, even with that extra nifty exclamation point, isn't going to make a bit of difference to your local power company. Even if you did call them beforehand to alert them to your impending very serious hour of saving the planet.

But I do hope you will call them to alert them, Crazy. I'd really love to be listening on the line when they answer the phone and you start out by saying, "Hello, I'm Crazy..."

Crazy? Why yes you are!

Crunchy, I was actually thinking about Earth Hour-...

2009-03-13T01:09:00.000-07:00
Crunchy, I was actually thinking about Earth Hour-type things recently.

I agree that I think it's often a marketing awareness-raising ploy. The problem is that you need a lot of focus on what to do AFTER earth hour. People I think would find it too easy to think that they've "done their bit" in that hour, and don't feel that they need to do much else. I think changing light bulbs and not using plastic bags can lull people into that same sense of security.

Have you considered doing a no-flights-for-a-year pledge? That's bound to save WAY more emissions than the cloth wipe challenge, although it might be less fun. Or no car for a month? Or a look-into-jobs-that-don't-have-a-commute day?

I love your site and it always gets me thinking, but I'm wondering if the bar needs to be a bit higher for people.

Bucky said...

"I'm afraid that I seem to be...

2009-03-12T22:38:00.000-07:00
Bucky said...

"I'm afraid that I seem to be missing something here."

Call me crazy, but what if someone from Earth Hour/WWF were to actually SPEAK TO THE POWER COMPANIES beforehand and get them to reduce their output for 60 minutes to coincide with the event?

Imagine that!

Loser...

Robj:

That zipper on your manhood is a litt...

2009-03-12T19:46:00.000-07:00
Robj:

That zipper on your manhood is a little disturbing. You might want to see someone about that.

It looks like Greenpa is busy making out with llam...

2009-03-12T16:46:00.000-07:00
It looks like Greenpa is busy making out with llamas and watching alpaca porn. Figures.

Greenpa is building a chicken cellar or something....

2009-03-12T15:55:00.000-07:00
Greenpa is building a chicken cellar or something. LOL crunchy is gonna be butt-chicken nekkid peeing on her plants! Don't worry Crunchy I will probably unzipp my manhood and pee along!

Suppose I will break out the solar lights. Or my b...

2009-03-12T15:50:00.000-07:00
Suppose I will break out the solar lights. Or my batterie operated led candles- oops-no - How about my solar powered rechargeble batteries lantern?

Abbie - Those are good questions. Greenpa is proba...

2009-03-12T15:02:00.000-07:00
Abbie - Those are good questions. Greenpa is probably "busy" doing whatever it is that he does all day long.

Bucky - That is a much improved tag line.

Crunchers, I think that would be "Earth Shower!...

2009-03-12T14:31:00.000-07:00
Crunchers, I think that would be "Earth Shower! Tinkling for the Good of the Planet."

Comments on Crunchy Chicken: If you plan on doing Earth Hour

I like the idea of world wide solidarity, as well ...

I was just planning to take a nap for an hour, wit...

Anon:One last question for you -- how exac...

Anon:I'm afraid that I still don't underst...

Hi All,The reason we do Earth Hour, if you...

Well written comment, Willa. :) I disagree. It can...

You know, if I were someone just coming to the ide...

The new Vote Earth 2009 global website has launche...

Buckster - Who needs testicles these days anyway? ...

WOW.Just got in and if the emails in my in...

I am going to use some edible soy candles I found ...

thanks for the levity, everyone...I needed that......

Alpaca porn, eh? Actually, I was researching the ...

It is not about saving energy, it is about sending...

I will definitely be doing Earth Hour. Last year, ...

@AnonCall me crazy, but what if someone...

Crunchy, I was actually thinking about Earth Hour-...

Bucky said..."I'm afraid that I seem to be...

Robj:That zipper on your manhood is a litt...

It looks like Greenpa is busy making out with llam...

Greenpa is building a chicken cellar or something....

Suppose I will break out the solar lights. Or my b...

Abbie - Those are good questions. Greenpa is proba...

Crunchers, I think that would be "Earth Shower!...

Anon:

One last question for you -- how exac...

Anon:

I'm afraid that I still don't underst...

Hi All,

The reason we do Earth Hour, if you...

WOW.

Just got in and if the emails in my in...

@Anon

Call me crazy, but what if someone...

Bucky said...

"I'm afraid that I seem to be...

Robj:

That zipper on your manhood is a litt...