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SELFISHNESS TRIUMPHS OVER CLIMATE
By: Freddie Molesworth
I am disappointed and a little disgusted that the UK's first Energy Saving Day didn’t result in any reduction in electricity usage.
E-Day asked everybody to switch off electrical devices they did not need over a period of 24 hours, with the National Grid monitoring consumption. But the electricity usage was almost exactly what would have been expected without E-Day.
The Grid's final figures showed national electricity consumption for the 24 hours (from 1800 Wednesday to 1800 Thursday) was 0.1% above the "business-as-usual" projection.
The event was launched on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral in central London by Dr Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, who described climate change as a "moral issue" and that we should all remember people in the Ganges delta who are already feeling the effects of sea level rise and climate change.
No one seemed to take much attention or bother about doing something positive or making a statement as the world reaches the tipping point for severe climate change.
E-Day asked everybody to switch off electrical devices they did not need over a period of 24 hours, with the National Grid monitoring consumption. But the electricity usage was almost exactly what would have been expected without E-Day.
The Grid's final figures showed national electricity consumption for the 24 hours (from 1800 Wednesday to 1800 Thursday) was 0.1% above the "business-as-usual" projection.
The event was launched on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral in central London by Dr Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, who described climate change as a "moral issue" and that we should all remember people in the Ganges delta who are already feeling the effects of sea level rise and climate change.
No one seemed to take much attention or bother about doing something positive or making a statement as the world reaches the tipping point for severe climate change.
29 February 2008
2 comments
2 comments so far
Timothy Williams
2008-04-22 05:10:57Earth Hour was a tremendous success with some 40 countries taking part with millions of people saving hundreds of thousands of black balloon - full of deadly carbon dioxide emissions. I was one of the many who switched all the lights back on and carried on burning non-renewable fossils fuels courtesy of the electricity grid. Why not give the people the option of sustaining their own power by really embracing the concept of Earth Hour and rebating solar-panels? Fifty-eight per cent of Australian adults took part in Earth Hour. But if the past few days in Melbourne are anything to go by, very few actually took on board its message. I can only hope by the time Earth Hour 2009 rolls around we've moved closer to embracing renewable power in Australia. Without it, I am sure there'll be many more powerless days ahead.
Jane Banksdown
2008-02-29 05:46:31Freddie, don’t be too hard on yourself and others. Remember that colder weather than forecast in some regions led to higher use of heating, masking any small savings. The drop in temperature between Wednesday 27 February and Thursday 28 February probably caused this, as a result of more lights and heating being left on than were originally predicted." Also, the event received very little publicity, despite having backing from campaign groups such as Greenpeace, Christian Aid and the RSPB, and from major energy companies such as EDF, E.On and Scottish Power.