Comments on: Burning Candles

By: Stubborn Mule

Stubborn Mule — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:31:17 +0000

I have no problem at all with people lighting 2 or 3 candles, the post was really motivated by the pictures in newspapers and on television reports after previous Earth Hours of restaurants and bars with hundreds of candles burning on every flat surface.

By: nicky

nicky — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:27:37 +0000

I just have to say that I don’t know anyone who would expect to get the same amount of light from candles as bulbs during earth hour. This article was well done but it assumes that you would need to have full light. And it didn’t take into account alternative materials for candles. I would like to see a comparison of those. What this comes down to is that we are so american that we can’t live without a highly lite room for one hour. Why can’t we give up a little light? Is it really that bad? Lighting 2 or 3 candles for an hour is nothing.The fun is sitting in low light and telling stories or playing music or games or talking or enjoying the stars with your friends and family.

By: Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack has jumped the candlestick » The Canadian Politics Blog

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:51:43 +0000

[...] a burning candle produces 7x more CO2 output per lumen of light than a 40W incandescent lightbulb (calculation here). To decry our own greed and supposed inefficiencies, Layton harkens back to a time before the [...]

By: Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack has jumped the candlestick | The Canadian Politics Blog

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:04:51 +0000

By: stubbornmule

stubbornmule — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:10:45 +0000

harry: I’d have to agree that energy-saving bulbs are the best way to go. I suppose for many people, though, they are not as much fun.

By: harry

harry — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:02:27 +0000

My opinion is, its better to use energy saving bulbs than going to all this kinds. Using oils for lighting may also affect health. Thanks for sharing with us.

By: stubbornmule

stubbornmule — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:21:57 +0000

I wouldn't judge paraffin versus soy based purely on cost. In terms of carbon emissions, both would emit carbon. An argument can be made that candles from renewable sources (including beeswax and soy) are preferable to those from non-renewable sources (paraffin). While this would not reduce the emissions from burning a single candle, at least the carbon release, capture cycle is shorter: the existence of the industry making these candles could be argued to increase the rate of carbon capture at the margins. I also found a discussion about the two types of candles that you may find interesting.

By: All Candle Supplies

All Candle Supplies — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:17:39 +0000

Do you think paraffin is better than soy wax since it’s cheaper?

By: stubbornmule

stubbornmule — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:51:50 +0000

@Sara: If only people were lighting just one candle! Articles like this one show that people assume that any number of candles are better than light-bulbs. Since most candles you buy are paraffin, a fossil fuel, lighting up half a dozen candles is almost certainly going to put you behind in terms of emissions. Also, I would question how many people would turn off their electronics along with the lights. I suspect many computers, TVs, stereos, etc were on while the lights were off. Of course, as I note in the post, the point is more symbolic than anything else and so I turned off my lights along with everyone else, but tried to keep the candles to a minimum. The real benefits from Earth Hour are firstly raising awareness and secondly the savings from switching off lights in office blocks rather than homes. What annoys me the most, prompting this article, are the restaurants and bars which make a point of participating but by lighting dozens of candles (almost certainly paraffin). They are almost certainly emitting more than they would if they left the lights on.

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:56:20 +0000

“a small candle … producing 7 grams of CO2 emissions”
“40W incandescent bulb … 40 grams of CO2 emissions”
“equivalent CFL bulb … 7 grams of CO2 emissions”

Ok, so a CFL bulb produces the same emissions as a small candle. If we’re going for equivalent lighting, then the bulb makes sense. However, most people are running MANY lights in their home in addition to electronics, etc. If they use only one small candle for the hour, it’s still much better. And really this is about lowering CO2 emissions. One candle, one hour.