Saturday, March 29, 2008 1:02 PM CDT
After Earth Hour
What you can do to be more energy efficient after the lights come back on
By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer
nwest@jg-tc.com
Regional organizers of tonight’s “Earth Hour” hope to swathe the Midwest in darkness to shine a light on reducing energy consumption.
But officials from environmental causes and area utilities agreed that there are certainly more practical and environmentally friendly ways to curb electricity usage than simply turning of your lights for 60 minutes.
For example, officials suggested switching to efficient “compact florescent” lighting and doing away with old refrigerators and other energy-hogging appliances.
“These are positive things people can do that really mean something (to) their bills and to the environment,” said Leigh Morris, spokesman for Ameren Illinois Utilities.
Founded last year in Australia, Earth Hour went global in 2008. Throughout the Midwest, organizers want residents and businesses to switch off non-essential lights from 8 to 9 p.m. tonight.
For their part, officials with the World Wildlife Fund — which is sponsoring Earth Hour — recognize their
initiative is largely symbolic, and they are on the same page with utility companies about the advice normal people can follow to lessen energy demands.
“What we’re trying to demonstrate is that each of us can take really simple steps that collectively can really make a big impact,” said Richard Moss, WWF vice president and managing director for climate change.
He spoke during a telephone interview Friday from Chicago, a flagship U.S. city for Earth Hour. Moss said the dimming of non-essential lights by individual residents and businesses “dramatically alters the skyline” of a large city, and this same grassroots kind of thinking can have similarly breathtaking effects on the environment.
Of course, Earth Hour aims to inspire people to implement practices that are practical, eco-friendly and year-round. “Individuals can do simple things in their own lives that can reduce energy consumption (without waiting) for governments to get their acts together,” said Moss.
Earth Hour “is really about the power of collective action,” he said. “It’s a symbol that, to solve the problem, individuals are going to have to do things.”
The Earth Hour Web site, www.earthhour.org, recommended converting to CFLs; using less hot water; and, obviously, turning off lights and appliances when they are not needed.
“These are not radical, ‘deep-green’ things,” said Moss. “We’re not suggesting people throw away the amenities of life. We’re just suggesting things that are common sense.”
Morris said Ameren is preparing to offer incentives to customers who discard standard incandescent light bulbs — which squander 85 to 90 percent of their electricity generating heat — in favor of CFLs.
Now available in a variety of shapes and sizes, CFLs can last seven years or longer. They utilize only a pittance of the electricity of standard bulbs, but produce the equivalent level of light, said Morris.
His company also will begin paying qualified customers for their pre-1990s refrigerators, which Ameren will remove at no charge.
Carl Dombek, spokesman for the Midwest Independent System Operator, which oversees the power grid in 15 states, said the real energy drains come not from lights, but from industrial machinery and home and business heating and air conditioning.
“Turning off a 60-watt lamp will not have nearly as much of an effect as turning off your 400-watt TV,” Dombek said.
Although universal participation in Earth Hour is not expected, a simultaneous and sizeable reduction in electricity could affect the grid, so power plants remain at the ready, said Dombek. MISO “is aware of and prepared for Earth Hour,” he said.
“We do not anticipate any system issues from this event, and are prepared to handle load reductions if and when they occur as a result of this event.”
Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.
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TigerRose wrote on Mar 29, 2008 1:03 AM:
Beat THAT! "