Well, Earth Hour has arrived in all its darkened splendour. The chance to show our dedication to our environment, rise up against greenhouse gasses and rally the troops to battle global warming!
Or not.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I quite like polar ice caps and fresh air. It’s ‘token gestures’ which annoy me to no end. Little ‘feel good’ displays of global concern from a society that thrives on consumption serve no purpose to me.
Turning our lights off for a hour on Saturday will allow millions of people to pat themselves on the back for demonstrating environmental concern. How many will jump in their cars on Monday for their single passenger commute, idle their engines while in the drive thru for their morning Timmies (in a disposable cup with plastic lid) all the while planning their well deserved RV, plane or boat trips this coming summer??
It’s not the idea of Earth Hour I find bothersome, but the hypocrisy.
I am just as, if not more so, guilty as many of us. There is little in life I enjoy more than cruising in my Chev convertible going nowhere in particular while getting 12 mpg fuel mileage. I like NASCAR, drag racing and water skiing. All activities whose environmental impact cannot be undone by shutting my lights off for a hour.
I choose to participate in activities which will make a true difference. Low flow shower head, thermostat at 70*, combining outings to accomplish as many tasks as possible and the like.
In my professional life as a mechanic I saw true improvements in tailpipe emissions under the past Drive Clean system. Measurable results. The new system, not so much, but that’s for a future blog.
There are many things we as a society can do to reduce the environmental harm we do.
I’m just not certain shutting the lights off for a hour is one of them.