For those of you who participated in Earth Hour 2010, welcome back to technology! For those of you who didn’t, there’s always next year!
Earth Hour is the name of an initiative aimed to get people to turn off all electrical appliances for at least an hour. Yup, that means no computers, T.V.s, or microwaves. It’s celebrated all around the world. Everything from Big Ben to the Sydney Opera house turned off its lights.
What do you think? Is it a good tool for promoting environmental causes, or just an interesting event?
The fact that so many prestigious and historic landmarks participated in Earth Hour only can contribute to the widespread participation in the event. In France, for example, Earth Hour is even seen as somewhat of a holiday and people celebrate when the Eiffel Tower shuts down its light for a mere hour. This display of cheering and counting down until 0 is very reminiscent of Times Square in NYC when the ball drops for New Years. In the US, maybe if Earth Hour gained more of a following and appreciation by people, then more people would consequently participate and turn off their lights and electronics for an hour. Although an hour is not enough to restore and preserve all of the energy that is lost, because somewhere out there, there is an entire household, or perhaps even community that doesn’t participate in Earth Hour, it is still a vital step towards the future that needs to be taken. All in all, Earth Hour is something that hopefully America will one day regard as a holiday and celebrate its effects and importance fully, around this time next year in 2011.
Stephanie… thanks for the thoughtful comment