Earth Hour: A Modest Proposal
On March 29th, 2008, at 8 pm, millions of citizens around the world will switch off (or have already turned off) their lights, expressing solidarity with the Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.
The event was first start by citizens of Sydney last year, with the aim of cutting the Earth’s emissions by upto 5%.
A noble goal, it is. How much power was saved? If you believe EnergyAustralia, about 10.3% less power was consumed in Sydney during that hour in 2007. That number, however, is in dispute with other estimates ranging from 2% to 6.3%. Does the number matter? On a larger scale, yes.
But at a smaller scale, it probably doesn’t matter. Why so? Because we will make up for the lost hour in many ways. Celebrating all manner of holidays, birthdays, events, and such, without much reflection on how much power we are expending.
The WWF recommends “earth hour every day”. Those in the third world emerging economies need not be reminded of it. They suffer power failure almost as a routine. And I’m sure atleast a few of my friends in emerging economies would be sniggering at this in the West.
So here’s a modest proposal. How about we observe this Earth Hour during New Year’s eve, when whole cities are alit and whole populations are out celebrating and wasting consuming loads of electricity? Or how about during some other popular festivals, like, umm.. Halloween. or even Xmas? Something tells me that will go down like a lead balloon.
