Earth Hour

I try to be green – or at least as green as I can and I do my best to ensure I don’t wantonly waste electricity or resources. I’m even trying to get my children to understand the need to turn off their light(s) or taps, etc.

But somehow earth hour to me smacks of silliness.

This blog post clearly shows it made no difference in California. Then you can read here, here and here for some more opinions. For sure there are plenty of positive comments and I’ll leave you to find those on your own.

My take on it. I always turn off what I can where I can and will continue to do so and don’t need yet another initiative to remind me to be that way.

And I do understand that the initiative is more than the token one hour thing, it’s main aim I’d guess is to cause people to be aware of green issues. Make them think long term rather than just for the one hour a year! However, the reality is (and I can’t find the figures now) I’d save more money and energy by changing just one of my light bulbs to a low power / emissions variant than by turning off all my power for an hour.

Beyond this is the very fact that Earth Hour has consumed huge amounts of resources – how many folks (including me) have blogged about it? How many have created posters, flyers, artwork, etc? How many have taken pictures with their digital cameras running as they are on disposable power? Then how many have uploaded them to a photo sharing service? I’m sure I could go on – yes it is good to be green but it is also wise to be aware of what we are doing with our ultimately finite resources that we have been blessed with.