Earth Hour 2009

This Saturday (28^th March) marks an effort to raise awareness of the need to take action on climate change. For a global problem, the initiative needs to be global, and so it is proving with Earth Hour – a worldwide initiative which recommends that every business and household switch off its lights and non-essential electrical appliances between the hours of 8:30 and 9:30 pm. By doing this, it is hoped that the amount of energy wasted will come down not only on Saturday night but, given the awareness raised by Earth Hour, people will take the decision to keep all non-essential appliances off when they are not in use. Earth Hour 2009 is the second annual worldwide celebration, but the movement has been in place since 2005.

Originally celebrated in Thailand in 2005, Earth Hour arose again in Australia in 2007, with lights going out across Sydney at 7:30pm. Last year was the first time that it officially became an international movement however, with thirty-five countries getting involved on a governmental level, and in all 400 cities taking part. Monuments such as the Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House, Bangkok’s Wat Arun Temple and the CN Tower all switched off non-essential lighting for the day. This year, the number of countries and cities participating has gone up by a huge amount, with 82 countries involved and more than 2100 cities. With the United Nations Climate Change Conference due to take place in December, organizers are hoping that the event has as great a level of success as possible.

Although it has had its critics, Earth Hour is viewed by and large as a major method of raising awareness. The amount of energy saved on the evening will, it is true, be dwarfed by the amount used during the rest of the day, and there are many who view the event of tokenism. The environmentalist response to this must be to point out that if one must consider it to be symbolism, it will at the very least be symbolic of differences we can all make in our own energy consumption, and in the use of energy in general. With so man y countries and cities already taking part in the campaign, the importance of as high a level of compliance as possible to demonstrate to national governments the public desire for action on climate change is essential.

100+ cities in Canada are signed up to the event – a sign of national feeling on the issue – and when you realize that the idea at the outset of this year for the organizers was to get 1000 in total worldwide, the fact that this has been more than doubled is something quite astonishing to behold. For the first time, there will be participation from Africa, with Kenya and South Africa both signed up. India and China – each of which has a population of over one billion people, have also agreed to participate. This is a real measure of what people power can achieve.

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Many people in this day and age do not view the environment as a cause for concern at all. This does not just show itself in climate change skepticism, although that does seem to be the forefront issue that gets the most attention from the doubters. No, the attitude of people who do not view the environment to be an issue – enviroskepticism, for want of a better word – is gaining currency as a response to the growth of the green movement, and what is more, it seems to be gaining popularity in no small part from a tactic of blaming people who have Green concerns for trying to guilt-trip individuals into not enjoying themselves. The theory goes that people with an interest in Green issues have such boring lives themselves that they will do anything to spoil everyone else’s fun.

That, of course, is nonsense. But it is a simple enough message to digest, and gets people off the hook for environmentally unfriendly behaviour, so it is a popular one. Those of us who genuinely care about environmental issues therefore have a tougher job on our hands, faced not only with the problems besetting our environment, but also the twin fronts of apathy and antipathy which face the movement. People who say “oh yeah, I do worry about the environment, but there is so much else to worry about too” are understandable. Those who say “Green issues are unimportant – they are just a front for people who want to stop others doing what they want to” are the truly dangerous ones. Not only is their message destructive and entirely false – it’s also a seductive one for people who do not really want to live responsibly and welcome the chance to make their lack of concern a human rights issue.

The fact of the matter is that with the global economy in the extremely poor shape it is in, the enviroskeptics have the perfect chance to spread their message. Don’t want to positively impact your carbon footprint? Blame the credit crunch for making it too expensive to try. Want to buy a gas-guzzling car? Well, the hybrid fuel cars are more expensive up front, aren’t they? It is not your fault the cheaper cars are the ones that hurt the environment more.

The only way to counter this kind of message is to bring a message that addresses the same concerns, without sinking to the levels often inhabited by enviroskeptics. Yes, hybrid fuel cars are more expensive, but they will pay for themselves over time – you will spend less cash filling your car up with hybrid fuel than if you keep the pure gas one. And you will not have to do it as often because the fuel efficiency of a hybrid car is better. A lot of Green decisions, it is true, cost a little more up front. But in the long run they will save you money, and this is where the Green counter-attack on the enviroskeptic appeals to greed need to be addressed.

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Oceans Threatened By Garbage Waves

With the news in recent weeks that global warming may be happening quicker than anyone had expected, it was only to be expected that further bad news would be on its way. And lo and behold, the latest news on the environment seems to show that things are getting worse on levels other than a climatological one. The latest news is that an increase in irresponsible trash dumping is likely to have a more profound effect than expected on seas already suffering, the effects, of global climate change – and worse yet, this is a worldwide trend. The revelations come from a report by the US-based group Ocean Conservancy that tracks and catalogues what they refer to as “a global snapshot of marine debris”.

The breadth of the action – nearly 400,000 volunteers set to the task, in 104 different locations – has revealed the extent of the problems of irresponsible dumping. On that one day alone last September, nearly seven million pounds of trash was collected from waterways from oceans to lakes, and from rivers to canals. That amounts to the weight of eighteen adult blue whales, and accounts for only what was found on that one day. What it demonstrates is a worrying tendency for humanity to put things where they cannot see them, and hope that they will go away. The only logical outcome of this attitude is a major pollution problem that will have results that so far can only be imagined.

On that single day in September 2008, 11.4 million items of garbage were collected. Included among these were cigarette butts, food containers and plastic bags. Although the latter of these has already come in for some scrutiny and has been targeted by conservation plans – with supermarkets now charging for plastic bags in some place, and offering stronger, re-usable canvas bags at a discount – the rest currently go unnoticed, and are providing a serious concern. The effects of toxins contained within the cigarette butts alone really do not bear thinking about. One other effect of the research was to show exactly which items are causing pollution off the coasts of which nations.

In the Philippines, 11,077 diapers were picked up. Off the coast of Britain, 19,504 fishing nets were found. Across Canada, the major offender appeared to be cigarettes and cigarette butts, with 323,706 showing up. As well as these, straws, beverage bottles and food receptacles were found to be a major source of the problem, which hints at beach parties and similar events carrying much of the burden of blame. The overall outcome of such polluted oceans is damaged marine ecosystems and polluted beaches – affecting more than one major industry very adversely indeed. In respect of this, another International Coastal Cleanup is being arranged by Ocean Conservancy for the 19^th of September, 2009. Again, the focus will be worldwide, with a close eye being kept on what the figures are this time.

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Global Environment, Environmental Crisis, And Global Economic Crisis

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned new US president Barack Obama that the current global economic crisis must not distract people from looking to take steps in avoiding climate change. The warning comes as Obama meets Blair’s successor Gordon Brown to discuss solutions to the economic situation, and brings into sharp focus the potential dangers of taking one’s eye of the ball when it comes to environmental matters – a potential and natural reaction to the high priority that is being placed on the financial crisis. The message from Tony Blair is that, economic crisis or no economic crisis, there  are still issues that need to be addressed with real urgency where environmental concerns are at issue.

In Blair’s view, some people are of the opinion that due to the economic turmoil, the environmental crisis that we could be facing needs to take a back seat, but in his words “either the climate is changing or it is not”. And, with the scientific consensus on the matter saying that it is incontrovertibly the case that climate change is a reality, we cannot simply turn our backs on environmental issues. If we are to do that, not only will the environmental crisis multiply, but it will have very real knock-on effects on the economic situation too. As a consequence, it is important that we concentrate equally on facing down the two major crises of our time – the global environment and the global economy.

Mr Blair has welcomed the fact that in Mr Obama’s recently-passed economic stimulus plan are contained incentives to use cleaner, renewable sources of energy. This is a sound effort to ensure that, rather than take one crisis as a priority and ignore the other, both problems can be tackled as a joint effort. With the expense that is involved in relying on fossil fuels – a situation that makes the global oil market an ever thornier problem – to concentrate on looking at alternative energy and greater energy efficiency makes more sense than ever. This is something that seems to set Obama apart from his predecessor George W Bush, who was viewed by many as a climate change skeptic, and viewed the scientific consensus as being misleading.

With the economic crisis still possessing a very firm grip on many of the world’s leading economies, there will continue to be stimulus and bailout plans to try and bring it into line. Mr Blair’s words to Mr Obama seem to be a warning to avoid economic expediency taking hold at the expense of environmentally sound plans. With Mr Obama having taken great care in selecting his cabinet and his advisers, it does seem that this warning is not one that will fall on deaf ears. A continuing focus on matters environmental is both essential and likely, but it is not a battle that will be won any time soon, and one which will depend on continued monitoring. This is an issue that we will continue to read about for a long time to come.

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Live Green Simply

Whether you have concluded yourself, whether a friend or family member has badgered you, or you have finally been guilt-tripped by the constant streams of information, it would seem likely that you have decided that greener living is a necessity for a better future, and you are not alone. As we live in a world of finite resources, the fact is that we are all going to have to make some changes, some of which may take more effort than others. If you can get ahead of the curve and make some of these changes now, so much the better, because the older a habit gets the harder it is to kick it.

Some simple tips on living a greener life can make a big difference to how energy- and resource-efficient you are – and they can start with the ridiculously simple ones. For example, re-using things that can still be useful. Have you seen a landfill recently? Not only do they take up a lot of space, but half the things that are there may well have still had some use left in them. Now, no-one is saying you need to hang out old tea  bags to give them a second use, or that hygiene products can be used longer than the convention suggests, but other things can make a difference.

Just for example, re-using the bags you get at the supermarket or the shops is something that many people are doing. You can take it further, though. Think of the amount of old receptacles that you throw out. Putting them to another use – old jars to keep loose change in, old margarine tubs for leftover food – can not only save you money, but can make a difference ecologically. Recycling is not all about leaving stuff out for the garbage men, after all.

Another simple household tip is one that you can follow while cooking. Chances are that your hob features four rings of differing sizes. Are you using the correct sized pan on the correct ring? It may sound like a stupid question, but so many people put a tiny pan – for heating milk, say – on a larger ring, with the upshot being that as well as heating the pan, the ring is heating a bunch of air around it, to no good effect. Match pans to rings, and save energy.

Staying in the kitchen, you have the refrigerator. Are you making it do too much work? Yes, its job is to keep things cold, but that job is harder if the refrigerator is constantly lying open, or is being opened and closed with great regularity. If you are going to need a bunch of stuff from there over a period of time, get it all out before you start whatever you are doing. Keeping the temperature constant wastes a lot less energy.

Additionally, instead of putting warm food into the refrigerator, leave it to cool first. This is a good idea for two reasons – firstly, a sharp drop in temperature can cause bacteria to thrive in the food and secondly, the warmer the item going in there, the harder the appliance has to work to get it to the correct temperature. Wasting energy happens so easily, but these are just a few ways you can reduce your burden.