Earth Hour Rebuttal

During Earth Hour (March 26th, 8:30 p.m.) people around the globe are invited to turn off their electric lights  for one hour as "a worldwide collective display of commitment to protect the one thing that unites us all - the planet", according to the WorldWide Wildlife Fund.  Ross McKittrick explains why the lights will remain on at our house.   Here's some of what he has to say, which is reprinted at Watts Up With That:

I abhor Earth Hour. Abundant, cheap electricity has been the greatest source of human liberation in the 20th century. Every material social advance in the 20th century depended on the proliferation of inexpensive and reliable electricity.

Giving women the freedom to work outside the home depended on the availability of electrical appliances that free up time from domestic chores. Getting children out of menial labour and into schools depended on the same thing, as well as the ability to provide safe indoor lighting for reading.


Development and provision of modern health care without electricity is absolutely impossible. The expansion of our food supply, and the promotion of hygiene and nutrition, depended on being able to irrigate fields, cook and refrigerate foods, and have a steady indoor supply of hot water.

More energy, not less, is needed to help the poorer nations climb out of poverty and achieve at least a minimally acceptable standard of living.  Let's not demonize electricity, the means by which that energy can most safely and cost-effectively be provided to them.