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TILT FOR EARTH
Tilty Margarita looks forward to the Great Darkening:
At their organic farm and B&B at the Oaks, near Camden, Margarita and Shaun Carrick will hold a three-course candlelit dinner to celebrate the event.
"It’s just so lovely to eat by candlelight,” Margarita says. “And you don’t have to do it just for Earth Hour."
Candlelight is also recommended by clumsy homeless people.
When the international campaign to raise awareness of climate change was launched last year, several restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne turned their lights off.
What a triumph!
[Margarita’s] Earth Hour message will not be extinguished when people finish their meals and snuff their candles out at 9pm.
"You see how pleasant it is,” she says, “and you end up talking to each other."
That’s the problem with electric light; it’s so noisy. Among tips on planning your Earth Hour dinner party:
• Prepare your food ahead of time. Salads, mousse and patés can be made in advance, stored in the fridge and require minimal fuss on the night.
• Try cooking on a gas barbecue outdoors.
Nothing tastes better than barbecued mousse. By the way, that poor guy running his grill in the dark? You shall know him by his scars.
• Pre-select your music.
But how will you play it? Earth Hour isn’t only about lights; it also calls for the ritual shunning of all non-essential appliances. Some people just don’t care about the planet.
• Keep extra wine in the fridge and make sure the corkscrew is handy.
Roger that.
(Via Kirk F.)
... practicing for his next mission?
Cheers
Posted by J.M. Heinrichs on 2008 03 17 at 07:40 PM • permalinkYes, a single lightbulb is so wasteful. Instead, get a dozen candles and light them. See that faint whisp of smoke that rises from each one? That’s not pollution - it’s magical Gaia breath rising naturally into nature! It’ll be a perfect fit with your music, which is pre-selected and therefore powered by nothing but good intentions.
GAH, this makes me want to shout and hit people. EVERY. SINGLE. THING. SHE. SAYS. IS. STUPID!
Posted by blandwagon on 2008 03 17 at 07:45 PM • permalinkYou know those beautiful art objects, scrimshaw, carvings, rock cave paintings?
Thats what you do so you dont die of boredom when the power goes out. The other option, so obliquely suggested is to get hammered and go to sleep. Its not mysterious it happens on shearing teams an boats every day.
Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2008 03 17 at 07:54 PM • permalink"Keep extra wine in the fridge...”
Refrigerators typically utilize electrical power, sweetie.
Don’t forget to power it down during your phony Earth Hour dinner.
Posted by Dave Surls on 2008 03 17 at 08:01 PM • permalinkThey’re also turning off lights in Government buildings. Call me if anyone notices the difference.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2008 03 17 at 08:05 PM • permalink"Prepare your food ahead of time.”
And, all these years I’ve neen preparing the food AFTER I ate it.
Silly me.
Posted by Dave Surls on 2008 03 17 at 08:05 PM • permalink"Tilty Margarita”
Btw, lefty tilty head syndrome can be corrected. The lefty sufferer simply needs to grow some backbone.
Posted by Dave Surls on 2008 03 17 at 08:07 PM • permalinkAs an avid recycler, I’ll also be using the candles as a sexual device after ingesting my standard hogshead of wine. I freaking love Earth Hour. No witnesses!
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2008 03 17 at 08:08 PM • permalinkNothing tastes better than barbecued mousse. By the way, that poor guy running his grill in the dark? You shall know him by his scars.
BWAHAHA!!
Oh, and preparing your food ahead of time STILL USES POWER. Talk about an empty gesture. If they really wanted to save power they’d be using solar ovens instead. You can cook dinner this way, it just takes about eight hours.
It is amazing listening to these morons going on about Earth Hour, and their brilliant tips to make the event less disagreeable than the reality they are propounding.
Tricks like having a party or eating by candle-light are amusing distractions owing to novelty and temporariness. The reality is that it a whole life like this would be dark, cold, dull - the life of a savage.
But the most consistent element in all their tips is to squander carbon-dioxide either in preparation - “chill your wine before hand; pack a hamper and drive your family somewhere to watch the darkness; roast a side of ox 1 hour earler”, or squander it in different ways - “Use a gas BBQ instead of your electric range; Burn candles instead of turning on a light”
Tards!
Posted by Toiling Mass on 2008 03 17 at 08:29 PM • permalinkPrepare your food ahead of time. Salads, mousse and patés can be made in advance, stored in the fridge and require minimal fuss on the night.
Well. Except all that pedalling to keep your (presumably) pedal-powered fridge going. Unless you still use blocks of ice.
I can see where the room temperature mousse will get you.
How do you, my Australians friends, even have food available to eat? According to an article at smh.com, you’re on your way to being the next Venezuela.
Empty shelves plague supermarket chains
Perhaps Mr. Rudd can nationalize all the supermarkets and put his genius abilities into working out food distribution, because we all know when the government gets involved with food distribution, all the problems magically disappear. Or not.
"Keep extra wine in the fridge...”
Fridge? Fridge?! You MONSTER!
Did anyone read an online article recently which noted that ‘lumen for lumen’ candles emit more CO2 than nasty artificial light? Got a link?
Other top tips:
Instead of cooking a soufflé, choke down a couple of raw beaten egg whites.
Instead of taking a hot shower, try dying.
That sheila is so full of shit!
I met her when I attended a couple of seedsavers meetings. Because she has an “organic” certification, she wouldn’t accept seeds or cuttings etc, from any of the other people at the meetings because none of them had that ridiculous certification. I certainly don’t have it for my own veges.
However, she had absolutely no qualms about snaffling some of my prize winning giant garlic when I brought some heads in to share around. When she was queried about it, her reply was that she would plant it in a patch of ground far away from the main vege patch.
Well, that’s all right then?
And to celebrate Absolut Darkness, try these tips from their Cooling Party Gride:
Instead of buying a new outfit for your party, practice a little ready-to-wear recycling by going with vintage instead. You’ll look snazzy and eco-savvy.
Nix the kilowatts completely by hosting a daytime picnic at a park or in your own backyard. Throw some soy patties or locally-raised meat on the grill (gas is best) and raise a glass in honor of the nearest tree.
Use real glasses instead of plastic cups. Not only do these cut down on waste, but they also make such a nice “clink” when you’re giving a toast. Rent yours from a party supplier, or scour a thrift store and pull together a funky, mismatched motif.
Remember the last time you bought a CD? Neither do we. Stick with digital downloads. The earth will love you for it, and so will your guests (as long as you keep that playlist as hip as your eco-consciousness).
That’s right, raid the Goodwill bin, host a picnic, rent some glassware, and pirate some tunes. Save the Earth."So all you have to do to be part of Earth Hour is to use all the energy earlier on…
And, be a self-righteous jackass.
That’s very important.
Posted by Dave Surls on 2008 03 17 at 10:01 PM • permalinkColleague of mine has schoolage children, who got very excited about last year’s Earth Day. (These ideas seem to appeal to children, funnily enough.) Anyway, they firmly and loudly resolved to live without electricity for the day. I asked her “Once they realized this meant no TV, how long did they last?” “Until about 11am” she replied.
Re #19, this was on Andrew Bolt’s blog:
A graph in the book “Energy for Developing Countries” indicates that light bulbs might be 100-500 times more energy efficient than candles. Figures are around 0.2 lumens per watt for candles, 20 lumens per watt for incandescent light bulbs, and 100 lumens per watt for flourescent light bulbs.So if your candles are the most common type, you will be creating at least 100 times more greenhouse gas with candles than with light bulbs of the same brightness.
"At their organic farm and B&B at the Oaks, near Camden, Margarita and Shaun Carrick will hold a three-course candlelit dinner to celebrate the event.”
So people in Sydney jump in their car, drive 30 miles (or so) to Camden, have a green dinner (lights out to reduce co2 emissions), then jump in their cars and drive back home to Sydney in order to save the world from pollution.
Whatever.
Posted by Dave Surls on 2008 03 17 at 10:17 PM • permalinkWhen’s Earth Hour again? I might have some welding to do out in the garage for an hour or so…
Posted by AlburyShifton on 2008 03 17 at 10:18 PM • permalinkThey’re also turning off lights in Government buildings.
Oddly enough, the building management for my organization is on a campaign to turn on ALL of the lights in on our building.
Some folks are sensitive to fluorescent lighting, so (in our building)they disconnect the bulbs above their cubby, and bring in their own incandescent lights, on their dime. This, however, is “unprofessional in appearance”, and thus all lights are being turned back on. Regardless of the ergonomics. I’m waiting for the inevitable disability claims to pour in.
At the same time, the same people are studying the locations and distribution of the thermostats throughout the building. They want to determine the optimum settings for each thermostat so that they save energy costs for heating and cooling.
I suppose the thermostat study will eventually pay for the extra lighting.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2008 03 18 at 12:20 AM • permalinkIs there any greater example of green stupidity than Earth Hour?
The whole stunt requires people to turn off efficiently made and distributed energy - electricity - and replace it with alternatives - candles and gas barbecues - that have to be transported by oil-burning ships, trucks and cars to the point where they are to be set fire to in the open air without any means of capturing emissions.
It’s insanity if the aim is to reduce CO2. And what makes it worse is that Fairfax media is behind it 100%. If the same degree of thought is going into its other business decisions, sell your Fairfax shares while you can.
Fools!
Last year we did this. I am HUGE supporter of Earth Hour.
It’s the bee’s balls. Best idea EVER.
... for VRWC members, of course.
Last year (IIRC), I got my place to 50 light globes on, as well as the stove, two fans, three computers, a V8 and a straight six.
Since then, I have bought four sets of floodlights and a couple more computers. So this year’s Earth Hour should be even more successful (and brilliantly lit) at Casa MarkL!!
BEAT THAT! (And I hope you do)
MarkL
CanberraMarkL -
BEAT THAT!
How about completely decorating one’s house with Christmas lights and turn them on at the beginning of Earth Hour? Especially flashing lights.
Posted by wronwright on 2008 03 18 at 06:04 AM • permalink"But how will you play it?”
Why you hire a band, of course. This isn’t an affair for the little people, it’s to make rich folk feel better about themselves.
Posted by MikeTheLibrarian on 2008 03 18 at 10:51 AM • permalinkTry cooking on a gas barbecue outdoors...
Um, gas BBQs generally use a sunstance called ‘gas’.
‘Gas’ is a fossil fuel.
This ‘gas’ is then burned in an oxygen-rich environment producing, er…
What a bunch of fools these people are.
Posted by Apparatchik on 2008 03 18 at 05:19 PM • permalinkWell, some of us in Florida do away with electricity entirely for various lengths of time in the summer depending on the severity of the tropical storm or hurricane.
Instead of feeling all smug, we electricity savers are kicking ourselves in the butt for not remembering to replace the ol’ generator after the last storm.
Posted by SwampWoman on 2008 03 18 at 07:42 PM • permalinkOoooh, I love the ideal of candles as “green” light:
The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought the first major change in candlemaking since the Middle Ages, when spermaceti, a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil, became available in quantity. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not elicit a repugnant odor when burned. Furthermore, spermaceti wax was found harder than both tallow and beeswax. It did not soften or bend in the summer heat. Historians note that the first “standard candles” were made from spermaceti wax.
Further developments in candlemaking occurred in 1850 with the production of paraffin wax made from oil and coal shales. Processed by distilling the residues left after crude petroleum was refined, the bluish-white wax was found to burn cleanly, and with no unpleasant odor. Of greatest significance was its cost - paraffin wax was more economical to produce than any preceding candle fuel developed. And while paraffin’s low melting point may have posed a threat to its popularity, the discovery of stearic acid solved this problem. Hard and durable, stearic acid was being produced in quantity by the end of the 19th century. By this period, most candles being manufactured consisted of paraffin and stearic acid.
Protect the environment! Burn a whale candle or wax candle made from oil or coal distilling residue to protest electricity made from environmentally unfriendly products.
See History of CandlesPosted by SwampWoman on 2008 03 18 at 07:54 PM • permalink
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Wronright???
Cheers