Earth Hour Rant

I was in Tim Hortons the other day. While waiting in line, I saw the advertisement on the TV mounted above the showcase for 'Earth Hour.' Unfortunately for the elderly lady in front of me, I let out such a huff of frustration that I most likely mussed her perfectly coiffured curls. I asked the perky girl at the counter why the add was being run. "It's like, so good for the environment! Isn't it cool that we're going green?" Oi.

I thought this nonsense was over a year ago. Phrases such as, In 2007 Earth hour was started by a group in Australia and now in 2009 we're hoping for at least a billion people to take part make it seem like a 'fun' thing to do. I'm not knocking those who have good intent, but what are we really teaching people? That if we turn off our lights for an hour we'll be that much greener or we'll save this amount of money? If you ask most people, they think that this is the case. But what is the reality?

Here is my interpretation of what will happen from the aspect of a typical teenager.

8:00 I better set my VCR to record tonight's shows because I won't be able have the TV on because I feel like being extra green!
8:20 Setting my Facebook status to (Name) is turning out the lights for Earth Hour!
8:29 Said good luck to all my friends on MSN.
8:30 Start dashing around the house like a mad person turning off all of the lights.
8:32 Yelling at mom - she turned the lights on to go to the bathroom! That's like, so not green.
8:47 Sending text messages to all of my BFF's - we're all doing super!
8:55 Looking for something to do, getting a little bored. How do the Amish do it?
9:03 Downloading a new game on the cell phone. With the back lit screen, who needs lights?
9:19 Started checking all the clocks in the house to see which one will say 9:30 first, and that's which one we'll go by.
9:28 Arg! This has been an eternity!
9:30 Turn on lights. Turn on computer to check Facebook and see how everyone did. Plug in phone charger. Turn on TV. So proud of myself!

Does anyone else see the issue here? Have we forgotten the monumental difference between continuous power consumption and the amount used the turn everything back on? Sure we might make a difference if all we were doing was turning our lights back on; but with the addition of our computers, TVs, and all other accessories and appliances there is more lost than gained.

People will argue this I'm sure, but my final opinion on the matter is a proven fact - there is less power wasted by continuous usage then the power surge required for the initial reboot. What will I be doing tonight at 8:30? Sitting at work.

With the lights on.