TONIGHT the world at large will be plunged into darkness for a brief moment in time. At 8.30pm, in 24 different time zones, people will switch off their lights for an hour to show that they care about the environment and climate change.
Welcome to Earth Hour where every year ― for 11 years running ― millions of people, businesses and landmarks set aside an hour to switch off their lights as a symbolic nod towards the Earth Hour movement.
A global environmental initiative by World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Earth Hour invites individuals, businesses, governments and communities to switch off their lights for an hour to show their support for environmentally-sustainable action to combat climate change and support conservation initiatives across the globe. It may only be symbolic, but watching iconic buildings such as the Eiffel Tower and Sydney Opera House plunge into darkness sends a powerful message.
A STEP FURTHER
Yet is that message enough to combat climate change and global deforestation that seem to be the new “normal” for us? Around the world, people are lulled into thinking that they’ve done their part for the environment by switching off for an hour. The publicity stunt doesn’t quite put the pressure on anyone to change, let alone the multitudes of corporations and logging companies that continue to damage the environment and produce man-made carbon emissions on an epic scale.
Case in point: if everyone who participates in Earth Hour would instead, not switch off but take their good intentions a step further by switching to energy-efficient bulbs, this might have saved 1,368 times as much energy because these bulbs save energy all through the year!
So what can you and I do as ordinary citizens beyond switching off for an hour?
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, ELIMINATE AND ADVOCATE!
It’s important to reduce the amount of waste/trash we generate. And we do generate a lot of waste, according to SWCorp Malaysia, a government agency dealing with solid waste. Malaysians generate about 38,000 tonnes of waste per day!
Reduce
When shopping for consumable products, we should look at the container those items are being sold in. Ask yourself: “When I’m done with this, how much trash will it create? Is the container reusable or recyclable? If the answers to those questions create large amounts of waste, don’t buy it. If you still find that you’re buying too much, try the 30-day challenge (if you want to purchase something unessential, wait 30 days to see if you still need to buy it ― and in the meantime, see if you can make do with what you already have, borrow, or buy used).
Reuse
Instead of discarding articles, try to find various efficient ways to reuse them. For example, using cloth bags in place of plastic bags, donating old clothes, toys and furniture to the needy and the poor (just ensure they’re useable!).
Recycle
The process of changing the waste and non-useable materials into potentially useful materials reduces the consumption of raw materials and energy usage. It also reduces air and water pollution by reducing the need of conventional waste disposal. Usage of recycled materials will help the environment to be green again. Separate your waste, and send items that can be recycled ― like aluminium cans and bottles ― to the recycling centre.
Eliminate
Stop using plastic bags and plastic straws. Malaysians use up about 31 million plastic straws every day, based on conservative estimates, and most times, these small and lightweight contraptions often never make it into recycling bins. Although straws amount to a tiny fraction of ocean plastic, their size makes them one of the most insidious polluters because they entangle marine animals and are consumed by fish.
Advocate
We need to speak out and lend our voice to causes that deserve to be championed. Lobbying our MPs and the authorities, meeting with government agencies, writing letters, initiating petitions and campaigns are some of the effective ways we can make a difference as responsible citizens. Volunteer your time and energy to do good. Join an environmental organisation. Most importantly, be an activist who can make a positive difference and be able to change the status quo.
There’s so much we can do beyond switching off our lights for an hour. There’s so much we can accomplish to make a difference to the environment. There’s really no disconnect between us and nature. So while we have become used to hearing that nature is a drag on development and a brake on growth, the opposite is in fact the case. Looking after nature is an unavoidable prerequisite for sustaining economic development and for ensuring our very survival.
Preserving our world and its life should become a core function of our economies. The intactness of our ecosystems is just as relevant for future generations as the intactness of our social relations. Protecting the rights of future generations therefore starts today. It starts with us.
Just don’t limit yourself to sitting in the living room in the dark for an hour. It won’t help.