Earth Hour stats

Some interesting stats to make me proud - even for Apathetic South Africans.

The electrical co (ESKOM) have calculated that 5,000,000 lights were switched off during the period - around 20% of all expected light bulbs that are normally on on a Saturday night.

200 tonnes of coal was saved, and 400 tonnes of carbon dioxide was prevented from entering our atmosphere.

We have a primarily a coal driven electrical grid, while there are two smaller nuclear power stations supplying the Cape Town Area.

South Africa is investing heavily into Pebble Bed nuclear power research. Last year, it was clear we have a grid which is undersupplying, and we went through a bunch of blackouts while all sorts of maintenance was being carried out on the grid. We have a number of new stations (coal driven) coming online, but they are still a number of years away.

Every evening, during television programming, a little graphic pops up if the grid is under stress, urging us to switch unnecessary appliances off. It's a start.