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Earth Hour - possible in Poland?


miranda  
29 Mar 2008 /  #31
As to the one hour lights out - just another media hype to keep the little people busy.

excellent point
Seanus  15 | 19666  
29 Mar 2008 /  #32
What do dwarves and midgets have to do with it? LOL
miranda  
29 Mar 2008 /  #33
you are smart enough - fiugure it out;)

m-1
s-0
he, he.....
Seanus  15 | 19666  
29 Mar 2008 /  #34
0-0, it was a joke, with my IQ of 70, I'm not smart enough ;)
miranda  
29 Mar 2008 /  #35
it was a joke

precisely
Seanus  15 | 19666  
29 Mar 2008 /  #36
Fiugure? ;)
miranda  
29 Mar 2008 /  #37
it is good for a dyslexic person
Seanus  15 | 19666  
29 Mar 2008 /  #38
It is good for a dyslexic, eh? Is it some kind of medicine to cure them? ;)
miranda  
29 Mar 2008 /  #39
Is it some kind of medicine to cure them? ;)

there maybe, but I wouldn't know about it. Maybe aspirin;0
Seanus  15 | 19666  
29 Mar 2008 /  #40
Gdzie są tej karżeły i krasnoludki? LOL
miranda  
29 Mar 2008 /  #41
they are everywhere LOL
shopgirl  6 | 928  
29 Mar 2008 /  #42
I quite doubt that, SG, unless an alien spaceship took the picture and sent it to us somehow,

No...that's not what I mean. I meant more like an arial shot from a plane.....we had planes around the beginning of the century, but I don't know if there were any cameras at that light with the capabilities for shutter speed/film type for low light photography. Time exposure wouldn't work because of the movement of the plane.

But still, I think it is unnatural for the planet to be lit on its dark side all the time...
Flip it off, earth!

(I live in a dark sky community that purposely minimizes light pollution. People who visit here often comment on the star sky that we have....especially if they have always lived in a city)
isthatu  3 | 1164  
29 Mar 2008 /  #43
isthatu wrote:
then the plug is earthed.

That's so cute! "earthed" hehe
In the US we say "grounded"

Are you feeling very grounded today ITU? :D

aha,dont you have a different type of wiring thingy over there too?
Yes,Im very earthed today SG thnx :)
z_darius  14 | 3960  
29 Mar 2008 /  #44
When people turn their car engines on five minutes before driving anywhere 'to get it warmed up'. It will heat up quicker if the engine is doing more than just idling.

Not doable in some climates, or at the very least too dangerous to human life to drive a vehicle with ice on the windshield. Imagine the cost of emergency crews helping thousands of accident victims every day in every locality.

Just the fact that so many countries are willing to do this, says something about the fact that we all know that we're killing the planet and using up all her resources

Would those be the same countries that only last week called upon OPEC to increase the oil production to decrease the prices of gasoline? The same countries throw money at the likes of Ford Motors and GM to keep their factories going, while at the same time public transport in many North American cities is underfunded and only somewhat functional. That's if you're lucky to live in a city where there is usable public transportation.

I never heard of this until today, but it made me think of some very simple things that I can do to contribute more, without any real effort on my part.

See, this is where the problem is - "easy". It ain't easy. A flip of the switch once a year for one hour won't solve anything, and it won't even contribute anything significant to the reduction of pollution and greenhouse gases. Real solutions result from real work/sacrifices. Why don't you change all your bulbs to compact fluorescent ones. If you have 10 of them, then this will save way more than turning twenty 60W bulbs for one hour 365 days a year.

The irony though is that, in Ontario, they asked people to do just that, and they even offered coupons and various little incentives (no tax on energy efficient appliances, programmable thermostats etc) and then... they started considering increase the price of electricity because the usage went down so much that the energy generation fetched less money than they were used to :)

Another irony is the utterly idiotic ethanol fad. In the US the ethanol producing crops used up 12% of farm land and that replaced 1% of regular gasoline. If all farmers produced only the crops used for the ethanol production then less than 9% of crude oil would be replaced. Food prices would be so hight that most people would simply die of hunger. Hmmmm, come to think about it... less people=less energy used... yeah, ethanol is the way to go ;)

For example some folks may not know that leaving appliances plugged in while not used, still pull energy (toasters, cell phone chargers, etc.).

Some do some don't.

Apparently its also safer to unplug unused appliances as well as saving energy.

Some appliance do not keep settings unless they are connected to a power source such as some phones, answering machines, TVs etc.

Also, most equipment failures occur when they are being turned on. The surges of electrical current is what does it. With computers, I always recommend keeping them on the whole day. That's what I do at home with most of my 10 computers, and in the last 15 years I had not a single power supply failure. In a library where they turn the machines off every evening we had 7 PS failures for 2006, 6 for 2007 (20 machines).

There are ways to reduce the usage of energy, but those once a year events are not it.

aha,dont you have a different type of wiring thingy over there too?

Wiring is basically the same. There is a ground prong (wire) in all electrical outlets/switches and that is regulated by electrical and building codes. A big grounding wire coming out of the circuit breaker box is connected to a metal element of the building's plumbing system.

Strangely, one thing absent here are lightning rods - an American invention.
osiol  55 | 3921  
30 Mar 2008 /  #45
Can't someone invent a better way of de-icing a car slightly more efficiently than by burning more petrol?
Ranj  21 | 947  
30 Mar 2008 /  #46
(I live in a dark sky community that purposely minimizes light pollution. People who visit here often comment on the star sky that we have....especially if they have always lived in a city)

OK...I can't sleep:(
I have to admit, the most beautiful sky I have witnessed besides sundown in Wyoming/Montana, is the night sky in San Isabel National Forest in Colorado....I never realized there were so many stars in the sky....I definitely want to go back.....it was definitely one of my favorite places to camp.

I never heard of this until today, but it made me think of some very simple things that I can do to contribute more, without any real effort on my part.

See, this is where the problem is - "easy". It ain't easy. A flip of the switch once a year for one hour won't solve anything, and it won't even contribute anything significant to the reduction of pollution and greenhouse gases. Real solutions result from real work/sacrifices. Why don't you change all your bulbs to compact fluorescent ones. If you have 10 of them, then this will save way more than turning twenty 60W bulbs for one hour 365 days a year.

I actually have 15 of them.....as for the lights I spoke about earlier, they are long bulb, florescent lights, and I have yet to see them sold in the US as eco-friendly. In the meantime, I will keep them off (my cats will just have to find their way to the litter box in the dark (for more than one hour per year, which I think is the point).
z_darius  14 | 3960  
30 Mar 2008 /  #47
florescent lights, and I have yet to see them sold in the US.

You need to go out more. In the US they are available in most stores where bulbs are available.

The Home Depot gave away 1,000,000 CFLs (compact fluorescent light) on Earth Day 2007.

IKEA in the UK gave 6 free CFLs to staff, and will replace them free when they run out in a 'bulb for life' campaign as part of World Environment Day. IKEA in Sweden has also handed out free CFLs to their customers.

Wal-Mart announced in September 2006 that it was starting a campaign to endorse CFLs. The store aims to sell one CFL to every one of their 100 million customers within the next year
Ranj  21 | 947  
30 Mar 2008 /  #48
Home Depot gave away 1,000,000 CFLs (compact fluorescent light) on Earth Day 2007.

Thank you, z-d.....I have the compact ones.....I'm talking about the long ones that go in my garage Which I paid for....didn't get them for free)....nevermind, though....I'm doing my part (and not just one hour a year) trust me:)
Goonie  8 | 242  
30 Mar 2008 /  #49
I like the black google :)
Daisy  3 | 1211  
30 Mar 2008 /  #50
Have you tried therapy?
shopgirl  6 | 928  
30 Mar 2008 /  #51
Can't someone invent a better way of de-icing a car slightly more efficiently than by burning more petrol?

You can spray on stuff from a can .......its called HEET, but I kinda doubt if that's really good for the environment, too. I should look at the ingredients. I keep a can in the car for emergencies in winter.
z_darius  14 | 3960  
30 Mar 2008 /  #52
I'm talking about the long ones that go in my garage Which I paid for....didn't get them for free

I'm confused. First you said they are not available in the US then you say you have them in your garage. Not to mention the fact that the fluorescent tube lighting has been around for decades.
Goonie  8 | 242  
30 Mar 2008 /  #53
Have you tried therapy?

not yet ;)
isthatu  3 | 1164  
30 Mar 2008 /  #54
You can spray on stuff from a can .......its called HEET, but I kinda doubt if that's really good for the environment,

sorry,not picking on ya,but,eh? whats wrong with warm water? works fine,and hardly enviromentaly destructive.....
Shawn_H  
30 Mar 2008 /  #55
whats wrong with warm water? works fine,and hardly enviromentaly destructive.....

On a verrrry cold, cold day, hot water can actually crack a windshield.
Svenski  1 | 159  
2 Apr 2008 /  #56
Perfect time to rob that convinience store on da corner..hehehe

So did you pull off that heist Krysia?? lol
miranda  
2 Apr 2008 /  #57
You need to go out more.

I love that expression. it means nothing, yet is is sooo condesending:)
RockyMason  19 | 250  
2 Apr 2008 /  #58
I don't understand how it is ethical for us in the USA to have such terrible public transportation! Rent can cost less than your gas+insurance+payment. Single people in cars are much worse for the environment than a bus or a train! Driving by yourself in a car is much more dangerous in terms of accidents than riding in a bus or train! Its more fuel efficient so precious limited oil is saved! Think about this wat will happen to the airlines once we run out of oil? They haven't invented an electric plane yet!

Think about it though..... safer,cleaner,and cheaper public transportation is the way to go! WAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH AMERICA? Think of it if u didn't have a car and u used public transportation which i estimate would cost less than 100 buxx a month u could save 10s of thousands over just 10 years! In 20 years u'd have 100s of thousands depending on the interest rate of course!!!!. Gas+insurance+payment in my experience is > or = 450$. so if u saved 350 dollars a month and put it into an account you could easily retire in 25 years more than likely! Depending on the economy of course LOL.

I hope more people become environmentalists! I have heard that some christians believe we should use up all of the oil b/c this earth is only temporary but heaven is forever! That is absolutely disgusting! Living in LA is as bad as being a smoker for your lungs lol. We have polluted some cali beaches so bad with sewage u can't go surfing occasionally because there is bacteria in the water! The reason for polluting the earth and plaguing our children with it would be $. OIL=$ Thats just kind of sick! We will never have good public transportation in the USA until gas becomes 10 dollars a gallon..... I HOPE IT DOES! =)
polishcanuck  7 | 461  
2 Apr 2008 /  #59
Did everyone here participate in earth hour?
Personally i don't understand the concept. Why don't we have a no-SUV day? Or take public transportation to work day? Or carpool day? Do the organizers of this event actually think that people will start conserving energy? No way! We're living in a "i want/need everything" society. Why don't we focus on pressuring our governments into building more clean energy power plants like nuclear, wind, fusion etc. What about green cars? My province recently shutdown a couple of coal power plants and are in talks to build a new nuclear plant. 80% of Frances energy comes from nuclear plants!

I boycotted the event and left all the lights on in my house (and i'm always keep the lights off or to a minimum).
isthatu  3 | 1164  
2 Apr 2008 /  #60
isthatu wrote:
whats wrong with warm water? works fine,and hardly enviromentaly destructive.....

On a verrrry cold, cold day, hot water can actually crack a windshield.

OK,granted,a verrrryyy cold day around here is minus 5,not minus gawd knows what you guys get in Poland/North America ,but,thats why I said,warm,not hot :)

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