Whether you believe in the advent of global warming or not, the fact remains Earth Hour was observed this past Saturday by millions of people around the world. Since its inception last year, the campaign to raise awareness about energy use has gained momentum.
At the end of March last year, organizers in Sydney, Australia, successfully launched Earth Hour and made a powerful statement about the greatest contributor to global warming – coal-fired electricity – by turning off the lights.
Reportedly more than 2.2 million Sydney residents and more than 2,100 businesses switched off lights, leading to a 10.2 percent energy reduction across the city.
The momentum that grew during the weeks leading up to this year’s Earth Hour was palpable — at least for those of us in the media. News releases came in daily from organizations promising to conserve energy in some way between 8 and 9 pm, March 29. Letters — via email, fax and snail mail — came into our newsroom, asking us to promote the event. Students at various schools throughout Greater Sudbury championed the cause, with the enthusiasm and hope that only a youthful spirit can provide. Advertisements bearing a globe-embossed “60” appeared in newspapers, on television and in magazines. We heard about it on the radio and ran into Earth Day promotion time and time again online, including, most memorably, the blackening of Google.com’s main search page. From 12 am March 29, until the end of that day, the Google homepage in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Kazakhstan and the UK was turned to a black background. Its tagline was, “We’ve turned the lights out. Now it’s your turn - Earth Hour.”
According to some online sources, millions of people around the world participated in Saturday’s Earth Hour — a successful conclusion to a campaign that was designed to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut emissions on an ongoing basis.
When I locked the door to my house Saturday afternoon, I made a conscious decision to not turn on the outside light, which is my habit when I plan on returning after the sun goes down. I was aware that not a single light was on, because I had made a point of checking.
In the days leading up to Earth Hour, I listened to many people complain about the legitimacy of the event. A quick online search reveals much of the same: some folks consider it to be a token affair that doesn’t have much merit in the grand scheme of things, particularly if one powers right back up to full-throttle energy usage.
But consider the words of one commentator:
“Isn’t Earth Hour meant to be symbolic? A demonstration of how you could use less electricity every night, not just one hour a year? However, it seems too many people think that reducing electricity usage this one hour a year is an accomplishment in itself and we all can go back to normal the rest of the year.”"
The fact remains that we all need to be aware, each and every day, of how much energy we’re consuming — whether we believe in global warming or not. Our planet isn’t getting any bigger, and yet we as humans seem to have an insatiable appetite for more and more. This basic lack of conservation is making us sick and our environment sick.
Between the hours of 8 and 9 pm Saturday, I walked across a frozen lake with my young daughter. Not a single electric light was on, thanks to the fact that all the cottages are off-grid. The blue-white snow against a dusky shoreline was a beautiful sight to behold as the sun finally sank deep into the horizon and the stars began their journey into brilliance.
From our little corner of the world, it was one of the earth’s finest hours.
Wendy Bird is Northern Life’s managing editor.
