The Qld government is taking part in the Earth hour, but i wonder if they are taking it seriously. I work for a government department and received an email today saying what we should do. It included the following in bold
"... Also,staff are asked to close all blinds along the exterior office windows if possible. .."
I wonder if the department is more worried about being embarrased or pretending to care about the environment.
Additionally our building is currently being renovated. There appears to be two newly installed upwardly pointing flood lights on the front of the building.
great idea but aside a warm fuzzy feeling for those who make the effort
does it do a lot ?...streetlights are a problem for sure but they asfaik in a lot of suburbia were always there ( yes turning them off late ) would be fantastic ..something I have noticed over the years visiting family in Brisbane
is that while heavy industry has long gone ,the light pollution has gone through the roof ..my feeling is Architectural design is a major contributer to light pollution within light industry these days ... the ways you can pretty up a few slabs of concrete
are pretty limited IMO ..but throw tastefull and decrotive lighting into the mix and you could almost build a course structure
around it and encourage it as an integral part of modern design . http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/programs...n_design.shtml
At days end whats wrong with locking up .. turn your alarm system on ..lights off ..and go home ??
I'll happily turn of the lights ... funny thing while typing this and before correcting some spelling the power went off for a half hour
FWIW, online media sources are quoting the National Trust of NSW president as saying the Trust intends to classify the NSW sky (day and night) as a thing worthy of heritage protection.
I can't believe a member here wouldnt support this idea, even if just for purely cynical and/or selfish reasons and just hope it grows even bigger the mainstream widening of awareness of LP=power factor alone is worth it? baby steps
we just had a 15 day long heatwave here in adelaide, a one in 3000 year heatwave it was estimated (for this coastal capital city), now it is about to snow i think tonight, wouldnt those extremes possibly make the graph averages unreliable? btw we had the coldest feb ever on record just prior the heatwave
i only have praise and support for the concept and the people behind the scenes making it happen
i think it is forecast clouds and rain here sat night
Last edited by fringe_dweller; 27-03-2008 at 11:55 PM.
i'll admit i was a serious man-made climate change or GW sceptic for a long time, but now i would class myself a fence sitter or agnostic even, and i get a sense we are in the majority? thesedays.
one thing the sceptic in me finds hard to get past, is to my mind and perception, of all the climate change whistle blower's the many earth scientists from NASA are the heavyweights in the pro GW camp for credibility. I mean what do they hope to gain from it? its hard to imagine they are working for the nuke plant people, who have the most to gain of anybody really, sat pics dont lie, is the glacier that supplies the ganges suddenly replenished? have all these glaciers suddenly restored to their former glory? how does that fit in with the charts?
anyway it is well proven that particulate pollution stops/hinders rainfall in those areas under it, that isnt rocket science for a start, so pollution does matter just from that alone.
and anyone that doesnt believe the sudden dramatic urbanisation/and western-like consumption of more than 2 billion people, and more to follow in africa and elsewhere eventually, and its affect on the planet and how in the long term, sustainable that is enviromentally, should be maybe concerned about the long term future or even short term of the entire planet in some way?
i say build the damn newk power plants now, and shut them up, or otherwise get used to Earth MOONTH every second month thats your choice!
or we could just turn tassie into one giant series of hydro electric power dams - thats my plan
From my point of view here in Nhulunbuy Earth Hour has already been a success.
I have in the past 3 days since my return from NACAA
* Done 2 Promo's on our local radio for the event
* Done my first Talk back radio appearance on Darwin Radio about the event
* Got the Company that runs the town and the council turning off major sources of light pollution for the night
* Involved all the local Schools in an Astronomy night on the local oval
* Got the major business in the town center on side to turn their lights off too !
Even to get people thinking about doing something for the enviroment, much less doing something is a major step forward.
That it's, I am now THE local Greenie/Astronomer/Science Guru
In January 2006, in a UK government-commissioned report, the head of the British Antarctic Survey, Chris Rapley, warned that this huge west Antarctic ice sheet may be starting to disintegrate, an event that could raise sea levels by at least 5 metres (16 ft). Estimates by others have ranged from 6 to 15 m (20–50 ft). Rapley said a previous Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report playing down worries about the ice sheet's stability should be revised. "The last IPCC report characterized Antarctica as a slumbering giant in terms of climate change," he wrote. "I would say it is now an awakened giant. There is real concern." [Wikipeadia quote]
Well the sleeping giant certainly woke up. Here's hoping that all the people sitting on the fence are right
Yeah that's the one. I'm not running screaming for the hills but it seems the potential effects they've feared of global warming are becoming fact at a rapid rate.
Yeah that's the one. I'm not running screaming for the hills but it seems the potential effects they've feared of global warming are becoming fact at a rapid rate.
This is hysteria gone mad.
The temperatures in the Antartic have not changed significantly for over 30 years.
So why do these stupid hysterical stories make it to the media?
Why do we have "documentaries" what spread lies?
For the media, it makes a great story, and that is what tabloid TV is all about. Make them emotional.
More likely, it is a rather effective method to secure research grants.
The calving of icebergs (even very big ones - and it is only in the last few years with remote sensing satellites that we have got a window on this process) is normal for this time of year in the antarctica - it is late summer.
Really nothing to see here. Sound and fury about nothing. Which is what AGW is. Biggest scientific fraud since the Piltdown Man saga.
oh dear, an andrew bolt-on neocon sh8tstirrer extrordinaire , and the troll central news.com.au opinion/comment neo-con 16 yr olds and retired farmers brigade of UBER TROLLS R US lol
"We're also working with our friends overseas for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership," Bush said. "I believe developing nations ought to be encouraged to use nuclear power. I believe it's in our interests, I believe it will help take pressure off the price of oil, and I know it's going to help protect the environment."
"If you believe that greenhouse gases are a priority, like a lot of us, if you take the issue seriously like I do and John [Howard] does, then you should be supportive of nuclear power," Mr Bush said.
From my point of view here in Nhulunbuy Earth Hour has already been a success.
I have in the past 3 days since my return from NACAA
* Done 2 Promo's on our local radio for the event
* Done my first Talk back radio appearance on Darwin Radio about the event
* Got the Company that runs the town and the council turning off major sources of light pollution for the night
* Involved all the local Schools in an Astronomy night on the local oval
* Got the major business in the town center on side to turn their lights off too !
Even to get people thinking about doing something for the enviroment, much less doing something is a major step forward.
That it's, I am now THE local Greenie/Astronomer/Science Guru
awesome! cant be long to that angry mob of local townsfolk lynching party arrives now Ian
Yes Kearn ... I will have my security detachment with me
I think most people are happy to set in the dark for an hour .... so long as they can still watch their big screen TV's
It was interesting to see your figures Argonavis, to me it looks like an overall decline in sea ice since 2004 (with a few high peaks)?
... funny thing while typing this and before correcting some spelling the power went off for a half hour 
and just hope it grows even bigger 
the mainstream widening of awareness of LP=power factor alone is worth it? baby steps
wouldnt those extremes possibly make the graph averages unreliable? btw we had the coldest feb ever on record just prior the heatwave
thats your choice!
awesome! 
cant be long to that angry mob of local townsfolk lynching party arrives now Ian 
