So what did you do in the dark?

Earth Hour has come and gone. Did you even notice? I'll admit i failed in my Earth Hour plans. It was a long week and i was exhausted by the end of it so i failed to ensure that all my lights we on. Instead i was having a nice dinner with Erin at Toscani Pizzeria at 120 W. Wayne Street in Fort Wayne.

The purpose behind Earth Hour is unclear. Some sources i read indicated that it was to draw attention to climate change. (Which of course i do not believe in as it is conventionally defined.) That infinite source of wisdumb, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Earth Hour promises, “the largest demonstration of public concern about climate change ever attempted." Other sources indicated that Earth Hour was about drawing attention to energy consumption. Based on my research i think the energy consumption camp is the correct one.

I can get behind reductions in energy consumption as long as it is a result of increased efficiency rather that a lowering of standards. I like a minimum of 7,500 lumens in my bedroom at night. This amount of light is normally supplied by a 300 watt halogen bulb, a 150 watt incandescent GE Reveal 3-way bulb, a 100 watt full spectrum bulb, and supplemented by the output of my television and monitor. I could save energy and money by turning off a couple of these lights, but i don't want that. I want my 7,500 lumens.

Light is also a visual phenomenon so my light bulbs should have no significant audible element, or to put it more simply florescent lights are out. I also like a full spectrum, another knock on florescent. But if someone comes along with a bulb that will save me money by cutting my energy consumption, i'll gladly switch.

Compact LED lights are not quite there yet. There is too much blue in the light. The more astute among you are probably thinking why would i not like more blue, and you would be correct-- more blue is always better. But where light is concerned accuracy is important. I'll not have objects cloaked in a false bath of blue light and fraudulently partake in blue's glory, not even objects in my own home.

For now it seems that halogen lamps and incandescent are the way to go at least until 2014 when Congress has decided that we will all need to go to the local head-shop to get grow lights. Nancy Pelosi and her cronies in the 110th Congress decided to eliminate incandescent bulbs that produce between 310–2600 lumens of light, roughly, light bulbs between 40 and150 watts. Three-way bulbs are exempt, and so are plant lights. So come 2014 i'll need to go to the local hydroponics shop, stand in line with pot-smoking hippies, and have my name entered into some DEA database so that i can buy a 100 watt bulb to put into the lamp connected to my Sunrizer light-based alarm clock. Thanks, Nancy.

So to return to the original subject, Earth Hour, i'd have to say it was a rousing success; and by rousing success i mean total failure. The United Nations building went dark, a move officials say will save $102, a figure that fluctuated wildly from its whopping initial estimate of $81,000. After the story appeared on FOXNews.com, a spokeswoman called back to say their estimate was incorrect and the savings was $24,000, but then called back a third time to say it was really $102. That $102 number did not include the additional overtime that was paid to staff to turn off and turn back on the lights. But given that the UN is in New York City and pays union rates, i am sure that the $102 savings was more than offset by the addition overtime paid to those fine men and womyn.

The City of Phoenix spent $3,000, partly to pay city employees to shut off its lights for an hour during Earth Hour 2008. Observers commented that because Earth Hour volunteers drive around to get the word out, and because people use inefficient battery operated flashlights instead of more efficient [mains current] light bulbs, it's certain that Earth Hour actually resulted in a net increase in energy usage.

And for those of you thinking of joining in the festivities next year, the Christian Science Monitor said that most candles are made from paraffin, a heavy hydrocarbon derived from crude oil, a fossil fuel, and that depending on how many candles a person burns (if one uses candles during Earth Hour), whether or not they normally use compact fluorescent light bulbs, and what source of energy is used to produce their electricity, replacing light bulbs with candles will cause an increase, instead of a decrease, in carbon dioxide emissions. Suck on that, Ban Ki-moon.

Earth Hour comes and Earth Hour goes, but nothing really changes. That is the problem with symbolic events. If you want to make real changes it requires real effort. One hour a year isn't going to accomplish anything.

Later

Bob

Losing Sucks.

If you write about winning, you have an obligation to write about losing. On Wednesday, I lost. Losing Sucks.

It ought to be a slogan, Losing Sucks, no exclamation point because if you need one you don't get it. It's not that you are all charged up about losing, nor is it terribly emotional. It is a plain statement of fact.

You don't get to win everything. I get that. I show grace in defeat most of the time. But this is one i should have won.

Oh well. I lost. I'll deal with it.

On the upside, everyone there said i did a great job. Not that these things are judged on points. If they were my record would be a lot better. But like the Kennedy/Nixon debates it is not a matter of points, it's a matter of grabbing a random sampling of people and seeing what they thought. To quote Kent Brockman, "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: democracy just doesn't work." It didn't work last November, It didn't work in the primaries (Damn Huckabee), and it didn't work on Wednesday.

In the long run, none of this matters. I went home and slept in my own bed. The Earth still turns. Birds still sing. And Bruce Wayne is still stuck at the Dawn of Man (Damn Morrision). My minor triumphs and defeats hardly matter, not even to me. But losing still sucks.

Later

Bob