The recent Earth Hour advertisements exhorted us to turn off the lights in the evening and enjoy a “candle-lit dinner” instead.

This crystallised in my mind the idiocy of this event – everyone knows candles produce more CO2 per lumen than the incandescent bulb, and lots more than a fluorescent bulb.

This is symbolic of the retreat from reason that is Earth Hour – not one single coal-powered station in the country will shut down for earth hour, so no power will be saved, it will instead be wasted.

The fact that “2,848 cities, towns and municipalities in 84 countries have already committed to Vote Earth for Earth Hour 2009” is evidence of nothing but a form of mass hysteria.

The fact that China, India and emerging countries lead the call for action on climate change is a cynical act of hypocrisy, given that they are calling for action by everyone else but China, India and emerging countries.

These countries are themselves the fastest growing “polluters” in the world – China now exceeds the carbon footprint of the USA, and India is not far behind.

The Vote Earth movement seems to me to be a rejection of the Age of Enlightenment in favour of a return to the dim glow of medieval ignorance, where modern-day peasants will sit smugly in the dark as a form of Mother Nature worship.

As Earth Hour asks us to symbolically turn off the light of reason, I have decided to Vote Human instead and turn every light in the house on tomorrow night – I encourage you all to do the same.

In the immortal words of Dylan Thomas: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light!”

ALLEN HORRELL
Oatlands
8th April 2009

See also:

http://www.rossmckitrick.com/uploads/4/8/0/8/4808045/earthhour.pdf
http://www.briansussman.com/environment/more-green-stupidity-earth-hour/
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/miloyiannopoulos/9307847/Earth_Hour_is_stupid_and_pointless_Leave_the_blasted_lights_on/