More heat than light?
I fear that H. L. Mencken’s wryly cynical observation has more truth to it than we would like to admit.
In 2025 Earth Hour will fall on 29 March. Earth Hour is best described as a movement to coordinate the activity of as many people as possible to do something that benefits the earth and its inhabitants on a specific date at a specific hour. One of the suggested actions is to turn off electric lights and appliances for the hour. Several years ago, I was watching a televised hockey game when the host of the broadcast concluded a segment by noting that we were in the midst of celebrating Earth Hour. I thought, Who is he talking to? Surely the celebrants had turned off their TVs half an hour before.
For some people, the hour is an opportunity to signal their concern for environmental threats. Others might be unaware of it or believe that it’s too much of an inconvenience to observe. One of the symbolic acts is to shut the lights and use candles for illumination. This has a dramatic and romantic appeal.
I’m not the first person, however, to point out that the tradition of lighting candles during Earth Hour is counterproductive. Paraffin candles burn at a low temperature and are a very inefficient source of light. More importantly, they generate large amounts of CO2 per unit of energy produced. In Canada, over 80% of our electricity is produced by hydropower, nuclear, and other renewables. If, in the spirit of solidarity, every household in Canada turned off the electricity and set up candles the country would switch from over 80% non-emitting electricity to exclusively carbon dioxide-emitting light sources. What is the symbolism of that?
How about mid-August?
At the core of Earth Hour’s appeal is that it’s only an hour. Imagine an Earth Week in early December in Canada. The only effect would be to remind us – if reminding is needed – what a cold, dark, inhospitable place Canada is in winter. Generations before TVs were in every home and laptops and iPads were dreamt of, electric lighting made people safer and boosted literacy by extending the time people could read in the evening. We certainly should not dismiss the impact of our standard of living on the environment. What we should do is appreciate that there are hard choices to be made if we are to protect the environment.
Perhaps it is human nature to be attracted to simplistic solutions to difficult problems; so-called bright line rules.
I may not know much about the environment, but I know that using a ceramic coffee cup must be better than paper.
We combine this with a tendency to attribute responsibility for problems to others. This leads to paradoxical behaviour. I have lived in three large Canadian cities: Ottawa, Toronto, and Calgary. In each, I have conducted an unscientific study of rush hour traffic by counting cars up to the point when I observe a vehicle with more than one person. That number is about 10 vehicles, regardless of the city. If highways are a means of moving people – not cars – and we make an estimate that only one of 5 seats is occupied, then the samples I observed suggest the roads are 80% empty. Many people wring their hands about the effects of fossil fuel emissions, but they won’t get out of their cars.
I don’t like to blow my own (Tesla) horn
When lifestyle changes are too inconvenient, many people console themselves with symbolic acts. The cynical term for that is virtue signalling. That might be an accusation that could be made of the Earth Hour candle phenomenon. Scholarly research has pointed to the existence of virtue signalling or signalling theory in economic terms.
Robin Hanson, an economist at George Mason University, has written about signalling. He describes it as just another way of showing off. He has cited David MacKay of the University of Cambridge, who said that some rooftop wind turbines in Japan have electric motors to keep them spinning when there is no wind. The brother and sister team of economists, Alison and Steven Sexton wrote a paper entitled Conspicuous Conservation: The Prius Effect and Willingness to Pay for Environmental Bona Fides. At the time of their research, the Prius dominated the market for hybrid vehicles. They hypothesized that if Prius owners were signalling to people their environmentally responsible behaviour then there should be a difference in the relative market shares in regional markets based on the political leanings of the markets.
They tested the hypothesis that the Prius would sell especially well in green markets where liberal voters are concentrated. That is what they found. In addition, the Sextons point out that in California it is not uncommon for homeowners to have solar panels installed on the shady side of their roofs, where they are least effective but visible to the neighbours. Moreover, homeowners will purchase wind turbines and solar panels rather than undertake less glamorous but more effective efficiency investments such as adding insulation, sealing windows and doors, or replacing energy-inefficient appliances, none of which is visible to outsiders.
Do as I say, not as I do
And that ceramic vs paper cup debate? Yes, the ceramic cup is reusable, and the paper cup is meant to be discarded. But the paper cup requires less energy to manufacture. Moreover, the ceramic cup must be washed, which requires heat for water, heat for drying, and detergents that are flushed into groundwater. So, which is better? It’s hard, if not impossible, to say. But if you follow the bright line rule that ceramic is always better – you might be right, or you might be wrong and damaging the environment with every coffee.
Although making responsible, effective decisions is challenging, that’s not a reason to avoid them. If, however, someone offers a simple solution to environmental protection, suspicion is justified. Smug, self-satisfied, simple-minded environmental bullying does the environment no favours. However, when March 29th comes around next year, if you’ve spent the week walking, taking public transit, or carpooling to work – in my opinion – you can make a cup of tea (ceramic or paper), put your feet up, turn on the light and read a book, or turn on the TV and watch the game – with a clear conscience.
