I try to be a little bit of an eco-warrier when I can, but I know I could do a much better job. However, tonight we can all do something simple to make a bit of difference — celebrate Earth Hour.
Earth Hour is an initiative by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund, not the nasty wrestlers) to bring awareness to carbon emissions and energy usage across the world. From 8 p.m. until 9 p.m., we’re all encouraged to turn off the lights. In participating cities, even businesses and restaurants are joining in. It’s easy, and it’s small, but it helps.
And come on, can’t you think of something fun to do in the dark for an hour?
Tags: earth hour, energy
March 29, 2008 at 3:45 pm |
I just want to say that this earth hour stuff is all bull.
Getting everyone to turn stuff off for one hour isn’t going to help the earth that much, in fact it may even cause MORE DAMAGE !!
For example: Imagine an average family of 4 and their usual night. Perhaps this family walks to the local convenience store and rents a video to watch together every Sat night. They use a highly efficient microwave to nuke some leftovers and plop down in front of the TV for two hours with no other lights on because you can see the movie better that way.
This week, this hypothetical family decides to “do the earth hour thing” with a few neighbors. They drive to the grocery store and purchase alot of meat and prepared foods like sweets/deserts, potato salad, and chips. They burn who knows how much propane to cook the factory-farmed meat they eat off paper or even Styrofoam plates. They use candles made from petroleum, or lamps powered by batteries or oil to light the party… And whatever doesn’t get eaten, will wind up in big plastic garbage bags to be taken to the dump.
All this earth hour stuff is just another way for the average man to feel like he’s doing something good while making a mess.
Actively choosing to turn down your thermostat a few degrees in the winter and up a few in the summer would save MUCH more energy than turning off all your electrical stuff for an hour each year.
Actively choosing to REDUCE and REUSE would mean that the little that you do need to RECYCLE can be done in a cost effective manor.
Actively choosing to compost your food scraps would not only save you money on fertilizer for your lawn each year, but would return the nutrients to the earth where they belong instead of trapping them in plastic bags buried under other garbage in a dump.
Choose wisely in your day to day actions, and you’ll do so much more for the world than any STUNT like “Earth Hour”.
March 29, 2008 at 4:07 pm |
It’s true that there are better ways to save the world. I don’t think anybody doesn’t agree with that. But, raising AWARENESS is important as well, and for those who find large steps overwhelming, maybe this will ease them in. Any step in the right direction is still going in the right direction, even if it doesn’t meet your standards.
And, as far as your example of the family of four making the great choices every other Saturday night and blowing it tonight — get real. The point of Earth Hour is for people to take a moment to recognize that things need to be done, and if a family is going to be so gung ho about participating, I strongly doubt they’re going to “cause even MORE DAMAGE.”
March 30, 2008 at 12:15 am |
LMAO Then you don’t know the general public. That was only a hypothetical family because the real family it was based on drives to the corner store each week.
March 30, 2008 at 10:45 am |
So what about all the families who go ahead and have dinner beforehand (cause face it who eats at 8pm anyway?) and spend the hour by candle light playing board games together? Not to mention the big companies who are on board who turned the lights off in entire skyrise buildings? Turning off the lights in a 50 story building for an hour sure can make a difference, and probably raises more AWARENESS than you would think.
Why don’t you try spending time telling “the general public” how they can help, rather than harassing someone who’s trying to make a difference. One person can make a difference, no matter how small.
March 30, 2008 at 4:12 pm |
If the real family it’s based on drives to the store each week, then how is Earth Hour going to cause more damage? Sheesh.
March 30, 2008 at 8:37 pm |
I think that reusing, reducing, and recycling can be done in a cost effective manner, and we should all try to do a bit more of that, BUT there’s nothing wrong with big companies, and all the rest of us, trying to get together for AN HOUR to make a difference – to make a point – and to try to get more people on the bandwagon. In fact it may be a very good thing. Maybe that hypothetical family Shannon wrote about translates to a real family that will think about reusing, reducing and recycling the rest of the year – which would more than make up for a one night excess. So here’s to the WWF for trying to get everyone to make a one hour difference which could eventually make a much bigger difference.
March 31, 2008 at 12:01 pm |
Wow Shannon, I think you are totally missing the point here. Earth Hour is a call to arms basically. It’s more about saying, hey, we have a problem and something needs to be done. I doubt that any family that cares enough to even know when Earth hour is, is going to cause even more damage. And I agree with Kristen, your logic is a little flawed there about the whole driving to the store thing.
April 3, 2008 at 6:16 pm |
Bull? What’s “bull” is the fact that while WWF is trying to raise awareness, some people are complaining about it. I agree with Kristen completely…Any step in the right direction is still going in the right direction.