Today we are encouraged to observe “Earth Hour,” an initiative of the World-Wide Fund for Nature which originated in Australia in 2007. Purposed as an environmental mindfulness strategy, the act of turning off unnecessary household lights between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., will remind us that small proactive actions can lead to powerful and positive conservational change. This is a bright idea!
Conservation is an intentional act. It implies the intentional and prudent use of our resources. Conservation requires one to practice good stewardship. This is all too challenging in our ‘throw away’ society. Canadians after all, are cited as being some of the more wasteful and waste-generating peoples on the planet. That sounds rather un-Canadian don’t you think?
The accompanying theme of Earth Hour 2018 has a focus on biodiversity and climate change. This is apropos. Changes to world weather patterns, especially the extreme drought in many regions of Africa and even closer to home, remind us that our environmental footprint is not treading softly upon vulnerable species. We witness more and more species of all varieties of life, pressed under the heel of extinction everyday.
Renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said, “we are in danger of destroying ourselves by our own greed and stupidity.” He offered hope though when he commented: “intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” Earth Hour, like Earth Day in April, asks us to make more intelligent decisions and take real action to change our poor environmental habits. We can all use less energy, less water, and continue to make great use of our local recycling program. It is small, definitive steps such as these, that can influence a positive trajectory into the future.
We must heed the brief lessons of environmental stewardship that initiatives like Earth Hour offer. Timely indeed! Spending an hour in the dark this evening may just help prevent us all being in the dark in the future! The recently released U2 song ‘The Blackout’ reinforces these ideas! The question remains: will we really ever learn our lesson? And so what if we don’t?
Hawking posited that “Earth might one day soon resemble the planet Venus.” Essentially this suggests global warming of a cataclysmic level as the average surface temperature of our ‘twin’ planet is +460 C. Quite toasty. SPF 60 simply won’t do in that context.
Hawking, whose recent passing has brought about a resurgence of his many deep thoughts, musings, theories, and wonderings, challenges us to “seek the greatest value of our action.” Turning off our lights for an hour tonight is just one such action we should all try.
To learn more about Earth Hour check out #STALBERTEARTHHOUR CONTEST and use #stalbertearthhour to share your actions. When the lights go out – let’s all share our bright ideas!
Tim Cusack is an educator, writer, and member of the naval reserve.
