Earth Hour

Tonight at eight o’clock, Brisbane will join the world to observe Earth Hour by turning off its lights for one hour. And the city has urged everyone to do the same.

Well, I’ve got other plans. I just found a place to live and I am moving today. As my stuff is scattered among a few friends’ places, I need to gather them and move them to my new digs. After moving all my boxes and suitcases with my little car all day, I finish the day by shoving my bed into the Little Car That Could and drive back to my new home. It is already eight o’clock when I leave my friend’s place. As I drive along the freeway past the city center, an eerie scene of darkened skyscrapers, punctuated by an occasional bright window here and there, unfolds before me. This is the only time I have seen Brisbane like this – no neon lights on building tops, no floodlighting on the bridges, not even the reflection of the skyline in the Brisbane River. I can’t help but think of my friends in Lubwe, Zambia, who would no doubt be having their Earth Hour when it’s their turn; and they observe it everyday! Soon, I am home and unpacking – with the lights burning bright in my room.

It’s not that I don’t care about the environment; to the contrary, I care so much, I have earned a reputation among my friends for being a tree-hugging, tofu-eating, and organic-munching hippie. To me, the purpose of Earth Hour is to raise awareness of our collective voracious appetite for energy and how it affects our lives and where we live, both locally and globally speaking. We all know that by turning off our lights for one measly hour will do nothing, in the long run, for the environment. It will be a success only if the event convinces people to start conserving energy. I have already been doing my part for a long time, especially since I moved to Brisbane three years ago. I turn off the lights when I leave the room. I line dry my clothes. I eat as local as possible by getting my fruits and vegetables from a community-supported agriculture club and by shopping at the local farmer’s market. I take my own reusable bags to go grocery shopping. I recycle and reuse jars and containers – oh, I am so famous for this one, my friends make fun of me to no end; apparently I am not wasteful enough to be considered “normal” in a developed country. I get around Brisbane by riding my bike almost all of the time and drive only if it’s not practical to ride or to take public transport – like when I am moving.

That’s why I feel like they are preaching to the choir and, to me, Earth Hour is a non-event.