Everybody is supposed to switch off electricity for an hour in an attempt to save earth. I personally find it amusing as we are doing our bit by not using electricity as we hardly ever get it anyway !:bonk Advertisements in the media make it sound as if the entire population of the world is living in the lap of luxury , people are shown holding candles and sweating it out. The bitter fact is that potable water and electricity is still a dream for many. It sounds like Earth Hour is only for city people .
It is a common misconception that Earth hour is about saving electricity. It most certainly is not. It is intended to be a highly visible symbolic action by a very large group of people aimed at bringing home the urgency of climate change. The fact that the number of participants keeps growing every year helps convince governments, businesses and individuals to take tangible action during the 24x365 hours that follow the Earth hour.
flowerlady, Gauri is right on the idea behind Earth hour. It is not an exercise to save electricity worldwide but rather a symbolic campaign to raise awareness among public about global warming and our need to minimize environmental damage to keep it in check.
Thanks for responding ! I know what it means , saving planet earth etc and a lot of power must have been saved by switching off lights. Mainly its symbolic I agree, specially for people who take all amenities of life foregranted and cannot imagine life without the comforts. Actually its a catch 22 situation , providing food and shelter and a means of livelihood is important , saving earth from the effects of industrialisation is also important. How do the two co-exist ?
Yes and No. Providing food and shelter and means of livelihood does not necessarily have to translate to destroying the environment and nor does industrialization. There are a lot of things we can alter in our current ways of living and still maintain the same lifestyle, that will leave a lesser carbon footprint and will slow down the process of manmade global warming. Little changes we can make to our lifestyles and the way we do things (this is more applicable to people in the west and in developed nations who are used to all creature comforts and are hesitant to compromise) can go a long way in slowing down the effects of man made global warming. Things like driving smaller fuel efficient cars, make an effort to use public transport a few times a week, reducing your intake of meat from your diet, making your home energy efficient etc. The list is long but I thought I'd mention a few as examples that can leave a lesser carbon footprint.
HI Flowerlady, I am going to give one example: Mass production and distribution of goods has the invisible cost of affecting the earths natural resources. Inexpensive, mass produced wooden furniture usually will not be recyclable nor will they be long lasting. So instead of paying more a piece of sturdy furniture that lasts a lifetime people tend to buy cheap, mass produced furniture that is not recyclable and will last only a few years. Due to this process, more trees are destroyed and more waste is generated. As we know deforestation is bad at many levels, reduction in natural habitats for local species, green house gases control etc.. I think there has to a a fundamental shift away from non-recyclable items.
Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Earth Hour was conceived by WWF and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. Following Sydney's lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008. Earth Hour 2010 took place on March 27, 2010 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at the participant's respective local time. That's what's the Wikipedia saying anyway Earth Hour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Well we are doing our bit by using the computer and doing away with paper, writing pens , envelopes , stamps ... .. There has been a big drop in the sales of greeting cards , letter pads etc as more and more people have switched (!) to using the laptop for sending and receiving messages. The friendly postman has certainly less to do now !
