Earth Hour
March 29th, 2008For one hour tonight, people are being encouraged to turn off all their lights across the world. Cities as far apart as Sydney and Vancouver have been or are going to dim the lights on their public buildings. Individuals too have been taking part. What’s the point in a meaningless gesture such as this, you might well ask. I think that sometimes, even symbolic gestures such as this do have a function, which in this case is to help more and more people learn about the consequences of conspicuous and heavy use of energy. I accept the evidence about climate change. But, as John McCain has said, even if we are wrong about the science, showing respect for the environment will bequeath a better planet for future generations. Failing to turn off unnecessary lights at home or wasting water have never been acceptable habits in my book. Initiatives such as Earth Hour are not really new at all.
As someone who instinctively recoils from new-fangled gimmicks, I will participate tonight.
