Arrag! Earth Hour and Candles.

[seeingeyecat]

All morning I"ve heard reports about how many Canadians participated in Earth Hour... but every story talked about the lovely candle light in the cafe, or dinner party, or whatever. AHHH! Candles are the least energy efficient way of generating light. They're great for moods, and nice beeswax smell, or decor... but not if your concern is saving carbon emissions. Shouldn't the Earth Hour people have made this known?
Last night between 8 and 9 pm my family and I unplugged anything that might have phantom power (besides the clock radio we rely on), and left on one florescent light while getting our toddler ready for bed. My husband read to us by one other low-wattage light while we fell asleep. I suppose we didn't follow the rules completely, but I know we saved more carbon than those groups who burned dozens of candles, all which require loads of carbon energy to produce and transport, and then release more gas while burning.

I hate Eco-washing, even when it's well intentioned.

[3.14_Opal]

Yeah, we didn't do candles either, just opened the breaker box and flipped everything off. Ahh darkness!

[AuntLavender]

We took our dog walk a little later than usual

and it didn't look like anyone was participating in my neighborhood.

My DH and I were discussing that there was a section on what to do during the hour of no lights!?! The candles bit made me laugh! Can't people enjoy the darkness for *one* hour *once* a year? I suppose if you were at a restaurant you wouldn't want to sit in pitch black darkness and try to eat!

[Ruthla]

I wish there had been better publicity for Earth Hour ahead of time. I didn't even hear about it until Friday morning and I didn't have a chance to tell my kids about it (and they would have reminded me when I forgot about it.)

[APBTlover]

I agree that filling a room with a hundred candles is no better than turning on the overhead bulb, BUT, in many ways, I think using candles thoughtfully is far better than using electric lights. For example, it's so much easier to just flip the switch without thinking of whether or not that light is actually necessary. Also, there is much more of a visible measure when using candles, as in, you can actually SEE the candle being used up. That visual sign can help remove people from the mythology that light just "appears" from "somewhere," you know?

I totally see your point, but I think there are other factors to consider.

[seeingeyecat]

Originally Posted by APBTlover

I agree that filling a room with a hundred candles is no better than turning on the overhead bulb, BUT, in many ways, I think using candles thoughtfully is far better than using electric lights.

I've read a life-cycle analysis on candle light and, per unit of light, candles are WAY less efficient that other sources of light, like lanterns or any sort of light bulb. They are not more efficient, when counting carbon units, under any measure. Even when you account for the fact that we accept significantly lower levels of light when we use candles versus other methods, they still release about 100 time the carbon emissions per hour of use than a florescent light bulb. Yes, lighting a candle is a more meaningful act than flicking a light switch, but that comparison is like saying idling your car at a drive-in showing of Inconvenient Truth is more thought provoking than switching it on your TV at home. One may make a bit more emotional impact than the other, but in reality you're hurting the cause much more than fighting it.
However, we do have candles in our house for emergencies, and ambiance, and to burn in the Kitty litter/storage room to "eat" yucky smells. And what would a birthday cake be without candles? It just bothers me that people assume that using candle light is the best thing to do for the environment, just because it feels like a more "natural" option.

[cee3]

Does it matter what kind of candles? Are, say, soy or beeswax candles better carbon-emissions-wise than your average Yankee Candle? How about homemade candles? Is it just the production and transport that we're talking about?