Leaving the Lights On

From all indications a lot more households than last year will turn their lights off for one hour this evening - the so-called Earth Hour. This event is being promoted as a way for everyone to show their solidarity with at least the idea of energy reduction and conservation, with a particular emphasis on reduction of carbon emissions as part of the fight against global warming.

I agree with the sentiment while being ambivalent about Earth Hour itself. Of course, as even the promoters admit, the real impact on energy production of this event is negligible; after that one hour of reduced consumption (Hydro One is expecting a dip of over 10%) we all go back to our typical wasteful ways. The objective, however, is one of raising consciousness about the problem even if the immediate impact is nil, and in that I expect Earth Hour will be successful.

My problem is that we are wasting an opportunity to better understand the energy problem. What gets lost in the celebration is that carbon emissions will increase during Earth Hour here in Ontario. The reason is that most of our electrical power generation is nuclear and hydro-electric. Since it is still the heating season, when you turn off all your electrical appliances, including the lights, you lose this carbon-free source of home heating and your fossil-fuel burning furnace will work a little harder. It isn't often understood that pretty much all your electrical power consumption heats your home as a byproduct of running electric appliances and lighting.

This is hardly a novel thought (it's certainly well understood by any expert in the field) but it is not thought about by the general population. This is hardly surprising since few people are conversant with the science, and even those who could understand it do not usually think it through. I believe getting this point across as part of Earth Hour could make the event more useful and educational.

In addition to turning off the lights (especially those outdoors that contribute nothing to home heating), how about parking the car for a day and setting the thermostat to 19 degrees. People need to think a little bit more about all sources of energy. In regions where electrical generation is from fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, oil), there it makes sense to cut the juice. That, too, is a useful lesson.

The lights in my home will stay on Saturday evening. That is how I will be reducing my carbon footprint.