http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1725947,00.html
Excerpts:
“Earth Hour won’t suffer for a lack of gimmicks. Servers wearing glow-in-the-dark necklaces will sell eco-tinis at bars and restaurants in Phoenix. A local yoga house in Michigan will offer sessions by lamplight, and the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago will have check-in by candlelight.”
“Because climate change is essentially a political problem, and the language of politics is symbolism. Just because an act is symbolic doesn’t mean it [sic] empty.”
“If shutting off the lights for an hour on Saturday night and doing yoga in the dark makes that political support, well, visible, then Earth Hour will have been worth it.”
“We’ve become inured to the existence of global warming, to its inconvenient truth, yet we sense that the solutions we’ve been given — change a light bulb, change your life — fall far short of the scale of the problem.”
The gimmicks crack me up – most of them will cost as much or more carbon points as the lights they are replacing for an hour. It truly is a symbolic act. If it works, it will be worth it, because as much as we as individuals do to conserve energy; we are collectively mere drops in the bucket of carbon pollution that is big business. Almost any large business or corporations pollutes because their business model makes it cheaper and more profitable for them to pollute than to not. It’s pretty much the same reason individuals pollute – cheaper, easier, and they get more from doing it than from refraining.
Going green has been presented to the public in much the same way as dieting is presented to overweight people – something we have to do because other people are unhappy with what we’re doing, how we look, and how we behave. It’s presented as a denial of gods and services, and punitive actions are taken against the people perceived to be polluters or to be overweight by some arbitrary standard. We have to deny ourselves the things that make life easier – often at great expense – and the only apparent reward we are offered is that other people will like us better or that we’ll “feel good” about what we do.
The Green Movement has been a movement of austerity, of denial, of minimalism, of making do and doing without. This doesn’t resonate with businesses who are all about earning more in order to enjoy luxuries and pleasures. It doesn’t resonate well with people who have lived without and been austere who really want to enjoy luxury and comfort – and when they finally get a chance to do so, they embrace modern luxury.
There are technologies developing that will reduce our carbon footprint, and still allow us our luxuries, but they won’t develop if we refuse to admit we need to make changes. We can live in abundance – all of us – without harming the earth upon which we live. The Green Movement has been all about saying “Don’t” when what we need is a movement that says, “It’s a problem, here’s how we can fix it.” Empowerment, not denial, is what will motivate us to make the changes we need – and still allow us to enjoy our wealth and lives.
If making a symbolic statement that we understand something needs to be done, and it needs to be done at all levels of society, motivates people to consider the problem and to develop answers, then it won’t be a laughable little ploy.
Unlike the recent LJ No Post Day, an Earth Hour isn’t one group targeting another group within the same agency. Earth Hour is an event that crosses country borders, crosses state lines, crosses economic lifestyle choices, and its target isn’t a single group, either, but a conglomerate of politicians and businesses that haven’t listened to us. It’s a shout, not a whine, a “Hey, look, we’re serious, this is serious, and something needs to be done, let’s talk and work on this together.” Its very brevity and kitschy gimmickiness (eco-tinis – I mean, really!) captures the attention, from eye-rolling to interest to inspiration.
So, I’ll be participating in Earth Hour – 8:00 p.m. Saturday night: http://www13.earthhourus.org/
I’ve posted lists of things we can do that will reduce our carbon footprint without inconveniencing ourselves or costing us extra money. There are so many simple things we can do or not do that will make many small differences. Don’t leave chargers plugged in when they actually aren’t charging anything. Turning lights off when you leave a room, using greener lightbulbs at a higher wattage so you use fewer lights with more illumination. Using your dishwasher instead of handwashing your dishes (full loads). Using your washing machine, but line-drying your clothes. Growing food among your flowers – if you garden anyway it takes so little extra effort to do this! Carpooling. Walking (if you see go shopping on your exercise you can do two or more things at once – bring your own shopping bags and a wheeled cart to carry them home in and walk briskly or jog while pushing or pulling your cart – voila – you’ve done something green and nailed your shopping and exercise all in one act). Use manual tools where you can – it’s just as fast and easy to use a Swing-away type can opener as it is to use an electric one. Cook from scratch – it’s surprisingly easy, fun, and far more nutritious than eating out or buying takeout or frozen dinners – and it takes the same amount of time as getting dressed, driving, waiting in line, waiting on being waited on, paying, and driving back home – in fact, it may be faster and cheaper, too. And so much more. You aren’t denying yourself anything when you go green intelligently, you’re making your life better, healthier, richer.
So, do the Earth Hour to send a message, and be green the smart way.
