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On Saturday night, cities and people around the world turned off their lights for one hour in honor of Earth Hour, a nonprofit movement that asks people to think about how they use electricity.
周六晚上，世界各地的城市和人们熄灯一小时响应“地球一小时活动”，这是一个非盈利性活动旨在呼吁人们思考如何使用电力。
But what kind of impact does an hour without electricity actually have on the grid?
但是，一小时不使用电对电网究竟有什么影响呢?
Well, reports from around the world suggest that during that one hour, energy usage can drop significantly. For instance, London saw a drop in energy usage in 2013 equal to about 2,800 homes being taken off the grid.
来自世界各地的报告表明，在那一个小时能源的使用量会大幅下降。例如，2013年伦敦能源使用下降相当于约2,800户家庭撤下电网。
Similarly, Bangkok saw a reduction in carbon emissions of nearly 1,165 tons during this year's event.
同样，在今年的活动中，曼谷的碳排放量减少了近1165吨。
But those numbers can be a bit misleading, because while consumption might have dropped, that doesn't mean less energy was being pumped into the grid.
但这些数字可能有点误导，因为虽然使用量可能有所下降，这并不意味着更少的能量被注入电网。
Power plants have to anticipate future needs, and they know that after the hour passes, they're likely to see an increase in electricity usage. So they keep burning fuel during the event.
发电厂必须预料未来的需求，他们知道这一小时过后，电力的使用可能会增加。所以活动中他们继续燃烧燃料。
Another problem occurs when everything is turned back on after the hour ends. When appliances are turned on, they require more energy to get started, reducing the net benefit of turning everything off for Earth Hour.
另一个问题是一小时结束后一切都重新打开。当设备打开时，它们需要更多的能量来开启，减少了地球一小时节能的净效益。
At the end of the day, though, Earth Hour and the World Wildlife Fund both say that the event isn't about saving energy for that one hour but is instead about raising awareness.
在一天结束的时候，地球一小时和世界野生动物基金会都表示，活动并不是说在那一小时节约能源，而是提高人们的意识。
译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
