Hmmm. *scratches head*
I don’t want to come across as a crank. Oh, who am I kidding? Those of you who know me know I have my cranky side. But, seriously … What do you guys think of Earth Hour?
Here’s my take. First, the pros. I am all for anything that highlights the need to make some real, substantive changes in our consuming lifestyle. (I almost wrote “consumptive,” but that makes it sound like we all have TB.) And according to this article, electricity fell by 5 percent in Chicagoland last year during Earth Hour, so one can assume that it did something in the short term to reduce noxious emissions and shine a CFC-friendly spotlight on conserving energy.
Alas, that segues neatly into the cons. The key in that last sentence is “short-term.” I hope more than a few people came away from Earth Hour last year thinking, “Wow, I kept the lights off for an hour and I didn’t die. Maybe I could do this for an hour every night, or make a commitment to use only natural sunlight during the day.” But I remain unconvinced. Statements, no matter how great or noble, remain only statements if they aren’t put into action (and, in this case, habit).
So I'm thinking that, by all means, if you are able, go for it and turn the lights off tomorrow. It will be a good thinking period, a good reflection on what we can all do to help the planet (and reduce our energy bills in the process). Think about how we can help the planet and our energy bills. And then, think about how you can take that energy and make it translate into action every day. Give the movement meaning.
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5 comments:
I LOVE Earth Hour, and I almost forgot! I'm so glad you blogged about this. Yes, I agree that it sort of feels like a band-aid on the Hoover Dam. I read another blogger talking about people bringing their bags to grocery stores and then filling them with over-processed, over-packaged crap or tons of meat, etc. So, really, were the bags doing that much good when their diet was causing so much harm? I think the whole purpose though is that hopefully things ARE getting better and people ARE starting to think about their footprint on the Earth. Maybe I'm idealistic (duh), but I look at it this way - that 5% won't be added on to something else. It's 5% that people didn't use at the very least. Maybe it will cause people to think - someone who never turned off lights might think about it now and turn them off, yk? Maybe....
As individuals, it's a neat little marketing thing to get people to think more about their energy consumption (not TB).
What gets me is that the response of civic policymakers is just as irrational and short-term as their support of daylight savings time.
I'm with you, Robin. Short term gimmicks are not long-term solutions.
Argh. Yeah, I could follow my husband around and turn off all the lights he leaves on. Sigh. His mother does it too. They're total flakes in this department. How do you change people like that?
Instead I concentrate on all the other ways to reduce our carbon footprint...things that don't involve my husband's short-term memory!
I'll be turning my lights off, but I agree that it kind of seems like a tiny, short term event. Really, I'm just interested to see what my mom is going to do for an hour without tv!
Forgive me if I get too snarky.
Skarking about Earth Hour is like snarking about Valentine's Day, Christmas, Earth Day, your birthday, or whatever has it's own special celebration. It gives the specialness to things that would otherwise pass us by (showing love, charity, the planet, emerging into the world and taking your first breath). Community is what ties these together. Everyone doing something, as a group (admit it, mass mentality is a strong force), and making a difference together. Maybe we dirty hippies should attempt to be more influential over those evil consumers (I keed, I keed), and draw our circle to bring them in. Earth Hour is one of our opportunities to do that. Maybe next year we could plan a game night with those ultra-consumers and turn out the lights for the whole thing, using the opportunity to chat about energy savings, pollution, and responsible planetary stewardship. I'm going to go turn my lights off now. ;)
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