[amitk26]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Instead of this , they should bring about a law to implement things like solar water heating ( i save tons from this ) , solar lighting , rain water harvesting and such things and make sure ppl implement these without fail ,

Interestingly I think India is probably only country where significant solar energy is being harvested by Solar water heaters. In USA and others they spend a lot of money on gizmos such as solar trickle chargers and photo voltic cells which produce insignificant electicity but creates more problem in terms of batteries but surprisingly they don't consider Solar water heating ( even in sunny states) , Even they can use it for pre-heating the water for domestic consumption.

Look at amazon.com so much discussion on PV panels but just one solar water heater for sale with no reviews.

[Mr_Bean]

I do my bit for the nature, I switch off the lights when i go to bed

[Mr. Nobody]

useless thing in my opinion . the rich urban elite who have electricity 24*7 thanks to gas guzzling generators in their societies supported this . they turned down their lights and feel they have saved the earth . there are a million others ways to help but no one can .

patients in small cities who need serious medical care are left without power , operations are done at candlelight , ventilators go off and some even succumb to their death .
70% population gets less than 4 hours power .

No govt. of the world cares and most measures they claim to implement is just to look good ,nothing else

[abhinav.s]

I was not in town so all the lights were off in my house.

In Mysore, the power company did its bit to ensure there was no power atleast in the area i was staying. So i voted for Yes.

[Live To Jive]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

I don't participate in these gimmicks.

I care for the environment, hence
- I avoid using a vehicle for short distances.
- I use public transport occasionally giving a day's rest to my car.
- I remember to switch off all lights when I am going out of the house.
- I use energy efficient CFL lamps.

Instead of these gimmicks, some real action should be taken by the authorities to avoid energy wastage in the following area:
- Flashlights on advertising billboards
- Use of energy efficient LED lights instead of halogen lamps for street lighting
- Energy theft in slum areas

Rohan

This is much more sensible.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Sorry for the OT, but nonsense like this Earth Hour hype gets to me.

Totally agree with you.

The west has wasted power and destroyed the earth. Now they want us to pay the price. India has always been doing its part. Recycling has been around for ages.

[Autonorm]

I really wonder who started such gimmicks in the first place. First of all switching off power for an hour in a year makes no sense as the electricity generated is not going to be decreased just for 1 hour. There is no means of storing electrical energy generated. Apart from that the Earth hour gimmick leads to greater consumption of energy. How you ask? Well for one when you switch off your fridge or AC, it will use up a lot of energy when restarted, same goes with your fluorscent tubes.

I really hate it when someone tries to popularize such stupid gimmicks which do more harm than good. One who said "Half knowledge is dangerous" was spot on.

As regards to using "Power saving bulbs" like CFL's, they do save you money on your electricity bill and that's it. Anyone thinking that they are doing the environment a favour using them please read up how used up CFL's create more pollution and lead to larger energy consumption once they have been used up.

It's just unfortunate to see industries making money by advertising falsely about being green and the looting the innocent people (those who actually try to do their bit).

Sorry for going OT but I thought this must be said.

[adheesh]

I have been supporting earth hour since 2008. One hour a year may just be symbolic, however it show the support an organization gets for good, noble work.

Regards,
Adheesh Parelkar

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Autonorm

As regards to using "Power saving bulbs" like CFL's, they do save you money on your electricity bill and that's it.

Oh.. Wasn't aware of that. But electricity saved is a good thing right? More we save the more people it can be distributed to.

Anyone thinking that they are doing the environment a favour using them please read up how used up CFL's create more pollution and lead to larger energy consumption once they have been used up.

Any links.

[Shan2nu]

I dont support "Earth Hour" at all. Instead of switching off your lights for just 1 hr, if people start contributing in a small way every day of the year, that would make a much bigger difference.

It's like someone who doesn't use his car for a day (in the name of saving enrgy) but wastes fuel on all the other days, compared to another guy who uses his car everyday, but switches off his engine at every traffic signal/when it isn't required.

Shan2nu

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by kannan666

We actually support earth hour here in Bangalore for two hours everyday thanks to BESCOM !

hahah! very truly said now that the elections got over earth hour comes everyday for 2 hours for us

[Autonorm]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Oh.. Wasn't aware of that. But electricity saved is a good thing right? More we save the more people it can be distributed to.

Electricity saved is a good thing but CFL's don't do that, I mean they do at source but energy used up later to to properly dispose it off is greater, so it is an individual only that is saving their electricity bills but not actually saving electricity. Relatively better are LED's. They are better in terms of saving power and also are relatively cleaner but alas they are not yet so commonly available for lighting homes.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Any links.

This is a link I found through Google

What Are the Dangers of Cfl Light Bulbs? | eHow.com

[sgiitk]

At Kanpur with over ten hours of power cuts we are doing (or being forced to do) more than our fair share in any case!

[manolin]

i switched off lights and ac and watched tv. Half way through I was so calm that i went to sleep:-)

[msdivy]

This year Earth Hour is on Saturday, 31st March 2012 at 8:30pm.
I wonder what the electricity producers, suppliers do with excess power in that hour. Surely they can't save it.

[girishglg]

With nearly over 1/3rd energy scarcity any savings during Earth hour will provide uninterrupted power in many places at least in our country.

Some of the measure adopted to use alternate sources in our home are-

Utilization of solar water heater covering entire hot water requirement
Have bought a solar lantern so that it can not only be used when the power goes off but also switch it on for a couple of hours after dinner when we either watch TV or chit chat. The best thing about it is not only the lighting is completely free but also saves on the conventional power and thus cost.

Now some of these solar lanterns are really affordable. You can lay hands on them online itself as I bought one. Some of these are very affordable examples-

FutureBazaar.com - Online shopping deals in Laptops, Mobiles Phones, Computers and Electronics
Buy Eurodiya solar lamp from Eureka Forbes at Best Price in India - Also find Specifications, Photos, Features & Reviews