SFist: Will You Turn Off Your Lights for an Earth Hour?

mhiggin1

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:07:57 -0800

I work in the renewable energy industry so I really care about energy conservation, but everyone simultaneously turning off their lights is a really terrible idea - it solves nothing and can really mess up the power grid. we'll all be a lot better off if we take actions that actually help the environment rather than doing something meaningless and potentially destructive.

lola la trailera

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:50:10 -0800

I went for a long walk for most of that time, it was nice when I stopped to get a smoothie at lettüs cafe on steiner st. and they had a beautiful candlelit atmosphere that was just super. Glad to see local business participating as well. Rumor has it they are opening more locations, a killer spot for yumminess.

RobInSF

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:44:40 -0800

To quote George Carlin: "Save the planet??? We don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the fucking planet?" Pure, human, self-centered, arrogance.

wsanders

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:20:18 -0800

What a bunch of cynical snarks you all are. Of course this is a symbolic gesture. The Bay Bridge lights all together use less power than a microwave oven, but who cares? The whole point is to provoke a dialog: Cheesehead A: "Yo, f***, all the f***in' lights are off on the f***ing bridge!" Cheesehead B: "Wassup with that? F***!" Thus is the progress of eco-consciousness.

RobInSF

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:12:35 -0800

Can everyone also hold their breath for one hour to reduce their carbon footprint and CO2 emissions? Thanks. Sincerely, "The Planet"

mpantone

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:02:13 -0800

Yeah, I got dimmers on almost all non-CFL switches. I rarely need the lights' full output, so I keep these lights on lower, except for that rare occasions I need the full wattage.

Jamison

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:33:19 -0800

Something besides CFLs you can do is install dimmer switches. Dimming incandescent bulbs won't get you as much savings as a CFL, but dimmers save energy and can eliminate harsh, unflattering lighting.

mpantone

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:04:11 -0800

Infokiosk, They already make 6500K CFLs; go ahead and Google "6500k cfl." They're not even specialty items; GE makes them for lil' ol' consumers like us. Today's bulbs are pretty darned close to instant on; if you haven't tried CFLs in a couple of years, please try them again. Yes, several years ago your complaints would have been valid, but CFL performance and variety have grown quite a bit. Also, CFLs have self-contained electronic ballasts.

infokiosk

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:48:44 -0800

If they can manufacture a 6500K CFL that turns on instantly without a ballast, I'll be all over it. Until then, I'll stick to incandescent. (Sorry Mother Earth!) I'll have my lights off tonight all night, but I'm right behind you in line at the hardware store, Brock!

mpantone

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:56:22 -0800

Guys, a lot of local hardware stores already accept fluorescent lights for recycling free of charge, along with batteries, cell phones, etc., so quit griping. Also, there's a better selection of CFLs, and you aren't stuck with bile-green lights. Heck, they make twisty CFLs color balanced at 5000K for photography these days. The only thing I haven't found yet are higher-wattage (150W equivalent) dimmable CFLs.

Athan

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:31:57 -0800

A complete and total waste of time to make do gooders feel good about themselves.

Leanne

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:29:11 -0800

You guys, I don't get why you think CFLs put off bad light. If you use *fixtures* to cover the bulbs and choose bulbs that output fewer kelvins, you honestly cannot tell the difference -- except they do take a couple of seconds to fully illuminate when first turned on. From the Energy Star web site: "The majority of CFLs available in the market offer soft or warm white light (2700K–3000K), which is comparable to an incandescent bulb. This color range works well in most residential settings and enhances warmer colors (red, yellow, orange) found in your home." Read more. Also, CFL bulbs now come in all shapes and sizes. You just have to look for them. There is about 4-5 mg of mercury in a CFL -- the size of a pin-prick, the clean-up of which doesn't pose an unreasonable hazard if the bulb breaks. Disposal is definitely an issue, but government will have to step up soon.

Brock Keeling

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:18:43 -0800

@infokiosk, my head just exploded. that is horrible news. i'll be going to ace this weekend to stockpile.

sagitta100

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 09:29:59 -0800

I have a three lamps that CFLs don't fit (the lampshades are made to fit over a standard shape/length bulb). Also, CFLs don't fit the light in my stairwell, because the base is too wide (I've tried a bunch). CFLs also don't make sense for the constantly on/off lights in my bathroom; nor for places safety requires rapid on light, such as my two stairwells. Furthermore, the light that CFLs put out is not nearly the aesthetic quality of incandescent. I would rather live in a dim incandescent house than a bright CFL house. And yes, I will be turning my lights off for an hour tonight. It's a great excuse to show off my candle collection to the neighbors. :-)

infokiosk

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 06:48:20 -0800

Did you know incandescent bulbs over 40W are on the way out in California? Get yours before 2009! I've never used anything over 40 personally, but I refuse to succumb to the green, slow-lighting glow of CFLs!

Dan Berkes

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:42:05 -0800

I will turn off my lights, and set fire to a Duraflame log!

RinconHillSF

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:34:26 -0800

Yes.

periqueblend

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:11:47 -0800

I agree up to a point. That point is best represented by Minnesota Congress woman Bachman. "Bachmann called any human connection to global warming "voodoo, nonsense, hokum, a hoax." http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/house/17002506.html

taran

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:59:50 -0800

I meant to mention in there somewhere, "the perfect is the enemy of the good" - y'know that one?

taran

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:55:58 -0800

I don't get the anti-event arguments at all so far. Since when are people not doing other, practically better things for the environment? You don't know them all, so don't make spurious judgements. And if many of these people *are* apathetic and/or hypocritical, how does that make their participation in an awareness-building exercise a bad thing? Does complicity always equal complacency? Is this supposed to be a zero-sum game, where there's only one good cause, or one good method?

xyz123

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:29:43 -0800

What happened to Lights On for Safety? You know when you leave your porch lights on so burglars know your home, etc. I'm so confused.

RobInSF

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:55:41 -0800

You expect me to miss Antiques Roadshow on a Saturday night???!!! Bullshit!

KWillets

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:31:26 -0800

Most people recognize that the amount of mercury in a fluorescent is miniscule.

makfan

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:09:07 -0800

I am going to take Caltrain and the Highway 17 express to Santa Cruz tomorrow. I think I will leave my lights on when I get back home after multiple hours on transit, thank you very much.

MalcoveMagnesia

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:55:20 -0800

If Peskin's "turn the lights off" thing becomes law, downtown will be really spooky. I've been in some Asian cities (Bangkok is the first one that comes to mind) where seeing skyscrapers with their lights completely 100% off in the middle of the night can be utterly eerie. Hopefully there will be some kind of balance figured out in this.

mpantone

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:53:45 -0800

Thanks for the heads-up! It's not too late to set up an 8pm Saturday night booty call.

Brock Keeling

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:50:40 -0800

but i look cute in a car.

jwb

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:38:27 -0800

Simple Earth-saving arithmetic: Energy saved by turning off 60W light for 1 hour: .216 megajoules Energy saved by not burning a gallon of gasoline: 131 megajoules Enjoy your darkness.

mamcart

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:34:26 -0800

I agree with bluecanary: complete waste of a gesture. And while I've wanted to switch to the little fluorescent bulbs on efficiency grounds, I'm very troubled by the fact that *no one* seems to recognize the harmful mercury content in them. In my mind, mercury in the environment is a much worse threat than having my lights on for an extra hour. Why don't these "turn your lights off" organizations seem to have any interest in making CFLs actually less harmful to the environment? Or at least highlighting places that recycle them responsibly?

icbalaam

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:57:27 -0800

I might turn off my lights, but I'll probably still watch TV or read SFist.

bluecanary

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:18:22 -0800

I hate these silly, petty gestures that make people think they're really helping the environment, when what would really help the most is for them to get their fat asses out of their cars and walk/bike/use public transit. But no one wants to say that, we want easy answers that are absolutely without pain. We want to turn our lights off for an hour to save the earth. BLEH. But meh, I'll turn the lights off, and bitch cynically whilst doing so.

what

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:12:10 -0800

Some energy-saving bulbs look really nice. Unfortunately, a lot of them suck-- especially the crappy ones that are included with the cheap-ass bathroom light you bought, or installed by your cheap-ass electrician. And of course, the crappy ones don't say "these suck!" on the box. We even got some energy-saving floodlights to scare off the homeless dudes from pooping in our driveway.