Earth Hour tomorrow
I will be participating in Earth Hour again tomorrow night, and am really looking forward to it. Although there seem to be many nay-sayers this week who are criticising the event as being ineffective, I was very impressed with the number of people who were involved last year, and the fact that it has gone global this year is a testament, in my opinion, to the power and commitment of individual people around the world.
After all, it's such a simple thing to do - turn off your lights (and we will be turning off our power as well) for just one hour! With our local community Climate Cam, I am hoping that we will be able to see the direct impact on energy consumption over that period. Fingers crossed it's a big dip - last year we strolled around the neighbourhood and it appeared we the only ones with our lights off, more's the pity.
In our house, the kids will be in bed, and us oldies will be enjoying a glass of wine (local of course!) by candelight while we admire the stars. Hopefully, we might even be able to see a few more of them than usual?
How are you planning to spend the hour?
Posts
4 comments:
Hey Julie,
I have to admit to being a bit puzzled by Earth Hour. In absolute energy use and GHG emissions terms it's insignificant: one hour is about 0.01% of one year, and instantaneous consumption will drop by only a fraction during that period. Though any reduction in emissions is a good thing I just can't get excited by those numbers.
Where I do think Earth Hour has value is in promoting awareness of the link between energy use and climate change, highlighting how much our lifestyle is dependent on electricity, and in giving people a practical prompt towards changing their behaviour. For example, if businesses can turn off their office lights for this one hour... why can't they do it every night?
Frankly I haven't planned to do anything other than our usual low-energy evening routine. Still, writing this comment has got me wondering whether inviting the neighbours to get together for games or stories by firelight might be a good way to build some friendships and gently promote energy-efficiency at the same time.
TB
Oh it's absolutely all about the symbolism Terry. I believe that this year if everyone that has signed up turns their lights etc off, it's the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road for that hour. Not insignificant. The figures that will (hopefully) be bandied around the following day *should* (in my mind) then get people thinking exactly along the lines of your example: if they can turn off their lights for one night with such an effect - why not do it every night?
I also think community-building is going to become more and more important in the coming (post Peak Oil) years, so why not start by attending one of the planned events on the night, or as you have suggested, get together with your neighbours (an even better idea!).
Cheers, Julie
Like TB I think the value in Earth Hour is in making people think and making it accessible to people who mightn't do things like that on a regular basis. It's a mindset thing.
Unfortunately we will be at a 40th party (and boy am I looking forward to it, not!) - and I seriously doubt they will be turning lights off! I can hope, but don't really expect it to happen..
Even if we were home I don't know if we would - I would by myself, but hubby is hardly on the same page (sometimes I wonder if he's even in the same book!) :(
I'm with you all; it's about awareness/consciousness of our everyday choices. Our cheap and reliable electricity has become wallpaper to our lives; we don't even realise it's there. Until it's not.
We used to live on generator power, so when I first moved to a home with mains power there were many moments of awareness. I still love the "safety" of a reliable power supply, but the consciousness of what we are using is always there.
Love the idea of getting together with friends for some stargazing or a bit of candlelight chat :) We aren't organised this yr, but the kids and I will wrap up in some quilts and make up stories together.
Post a Comment