Sunday, August 21, 2011

The inverted ideology of Earth Hour

(It was Saturday, March 28, 2009 when I first wrote this.)

In just a few hours millions of people are expected to switch off their electric lights, claiming this is a vote against “global warming”.  Organizers hope politicians will see this as pressure to construct a policy to replace the Kyoto accord.  I’ll be making sure my lights stay on in an effort to combat the intellectual darkness of and Earth Hour and climate change alarmism.

A large and growing body of evidence disproves claims of a significant man-made influence on the climate.  Scientists in many disciplines have found hard evidence to not only falsify the many claims of global warming alarmists but to show convincing, natural explanations for many of the large, cyclical fluctuations in Earth’s climate.  Studies from world-renowned climatologists, paleo-climatologists, astrophysicists, geologists, historians and others have consistently cast light on the outright lies of Al Gore and his ilk.  Right here at the universities in Ottawa are some of the well-known scientists who consider the uproar over climate to be a farce.  This information remains ignored by those who would use nature itself as a weapon to push back the advances of humanity over the last two centuries. Just look on the web under the International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) and the Manhattan Declaration to learn more.

What about Earth Hour itself – what does it really symbolize?  The desire of some people to control the lives of many others by using government force to restrict the use of energy.  These people have the same mindset as those who value bugs and rocks over human life.  The outspoken ones go so far as to state openly that Earth would be better off without humanity.

Think of all the life-improving changes mankind has discovered since the industrial revolution.  People do not have to rise with the sun to scrape the land in an effort to grow food and feed their family.  Instead only a small fraction of the population does this using super-efficient machinery and farming technologies.  We do not have to huddle in the cold, burning branches to protect us from the bitter cold of night and winter.  Instead we live in insulated, heat-regulated houses built with machines and using high technology.  We do not have to sit idly in the dark after sunset, perhaps burning wood or animal oil to provide a dim light.  We are able to create our own bright light using energy sources un-dreamed of just a few centuries ago.  Our productive and engaged hours are thus expanded greatly.  We do not have to suffer and die at young ages from diseases like tuberculosis, pneumonia, diarrhea, bronchitis, syphilis.  Instead we live more than 80 years and are healthier and stronger than any group in history.  Instead of the rigors of walking long distances to travel, we can step in a car, train or plane and cross countries in a day or oceans in hours.  Rather than have access to a very limited amount of knowledge through a small number of hand-produced books we have instant access to most human knowledge instantly.  Education, health, culture, clothing, housing, travel, food and every other important aspect of human life has been revolutionized in the last 200 years. 

Can you think of one part of your life that is not sustained by the use of energy, in particular the ingenious use of fuels like oil and coal?  Earth Hour participants may enjoy an hour in the dark, though they will likely burn candles and battery power, safely knowing the life-saving benefits of industrial civilization are just a light switch away. If the draconian carbon-reduction policies that climate activists are demanding were actually implemented we would be trying to survive while shivering in the dark without heating, electricity, refrigeration; without power plants or generators; without any of the labor-saving, time-saving, and therefore life-saving products that industrial energy makes possible. Billions would die.

Our city lights are a great symbol of human achievement, of mankind’s achievement in rising from the cave to the skyscraper. Earth Hour presents the inverted spectacle of people celebrating those lights being extinguished.   It reminds me of the end of the novel Atlas Shrugged when the lights of New York go out, signaling the end of a collectivist civilization.  During Earth Hour my home lights will shine brightly in honour and celebration of the successful use of man’s great tool - his mind – to promote human life in the face of a harsh and unforgiving environment.

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