LOGICal eMOTIONs

Earth Hour – Shmirth Hour.

// March 31st, 2008 // Brain Dump

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that we need to take action on climate change, and World Wildlife Fund is one of only 2 charities that I will actually support. What I don’t get is how turning off your lights for an hour, then turning them back on again sends a message..

Earth Hour was a huge global success! On Saturday, March 29, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. people around the world turned out their lights for Earth Hour, sending a very strong message to our government, and governments around the world, that we need to take action on climate change now. -WWF Canada

Sure, there was a noticeable drop in power consumption for the hour, yet demand at Ontario Power Generation returned to normal levels at 9pm, and regardless of whether or not we used the power, it was still generated! We didn’t shut down nuclear reactors, or any other hideous power generating method (coal?!) for the hour, no, we just turned out our lights and simply wasted that hour of nuclear waste.

Ok, so it sends a message to the government, right? Wrong. The government is well aware of the message, yet for an event like this they were simply forced to participate and listen. Sure, Toronto held a big event down at city hall, yet had they chosen to ignore the hour there would have been such a huge backlash that they HAD to participate. By participating they are aware of the message.

Yes, the governments (aka. the people) need to do more in terms of climate change – I agree to this, however, only small gains if any are even accomplished with events such as this. Yes, it brings awareness – but what kind of awareness? Awareness is all well and good, yet if there are no choices then awareness is not really that useful.

I did turn out the bedroom light during the hour, and the only things on were my computers, my desk lamp, and a couple washers/dryers in the basement. Sorry, I was on course this weekend and needed to use the computers, I needed to see what the heck I was doing, and frankly I needed clean clothes for the next day so the washers and dryers were chugging away too (only time I could do it before the laundry facility in the basement was closed). Turning out the lights and sitting in the dark does not bring any more awareness to climate change – the only awareness it brings is a) it’s dark, and b) the majority of the people you can see out your window have their lights on (anti-climate change jerks).

How does this translate into a message to the government that they need to crack the whip and change things?

At 9pm everyone turned their lights back on, consumption returned to normal, and everyone who participated had a warm fuzzy feeling inside. The nuclear reactors still ran, and a month from now the ‘awareness’ will have faded. Net result? I have no idea, other than it was a good publicity opportunity for local governments.

There are really two issues at hand: consumption and supply.

When it comes to consumption, yes, we can all do our part – don’t leave every light on, change to icecap-friendly light bulbs, etc. etc.. Yet, there is still limited choice. My desk lamp and under-counter lights in the kitchen are halogen. When there is a requirement for a small light that is still bright, there are simply no other options available. I can’t go to Home Depot and pick up a replacement fluorescent bulb for my desk lamp – if I could I would. I also have no choice in where my electricity comes from. I live in an apartment building which means whoever the property management company decides to go with is who I go with. I don’t believe that people are seriously excessive users of power and simply turn on everything for the sake of it. Offer choices and people will pick the right one.

In terms of supply, more needs to change there. We are still running nuclear, coal, natural gas, and every other hideous method of power generation throughout the world. If all your electricity was powered by wind or solar, would you honestly care about an extra 50W light bulb turned on for an hour? Not likely. We have a demand for electricity which you may be able to shave off a small amount from through conscious effort to reduce power consumption. If you can only reduce it by a small amount, then clearly the issue is at the point of generation.

I think the next time a campaign comes up, I vote for the:

Hey Fat America: How About You Not Eat For An Hour, Campaign

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