As the modern age is increasingly reliant upon electricity and fossil-fuel powered technology to create, sustain and prolong life, it is hard for the generation born into this era to imagine a world devoid of the equipment and living conditions that they were introduced to as standard. It is often easy to forget that even the simplest of things, such as food, are rarely without the use of power at some point in their production. If not at production then at least in household storage, cooking and disposal. The recent (over-emphasised) threat of fuel-tankers striking revealed the extent of the UK public’s fear of running out of fossil fuels and also conversely displayed the attitude of the majority towards climate change to be nonchalant.
As a student living in campus accommodation, the threat of a power-cut made me consider what would happen if I was to be without power for a significant amount of time. With all the appliances I use on a daily basis connected to an electrical power supply and the use of candles being banned, the answer would be that not much would happen, except that I’d eventually go searching for some beacon of electrically-powered light so that my normal life could resume. I have to admit that where climate change is concerned, and although I don’t needlessly leave lights on or waste power, I do focus upon the (often electrical) necessities for my lifestyle and not upon the planet.
The public attitude towards climate change and this powerlessness will be realised tonight for one hour. When Big Ben strikes 8.30pm the lighting that illuminates the famous clock tower will be switched off in support of Earth Hour, a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) initiative. Tonight, across many major cities, lights will be dimmed and completely turned off as each time-zone hits 8.30pm, meaning that cities within Asia and Australasia will have already switched off their non-essential lights for an hour when this article is published. The idea began five years ago in Sydney as over 2.2 million Australian supporters of action against climate change turned off non-essential lights and appliances. In the years following, worldwide support for Earth Hour grew and the event was recognised on the last Sunday of March in an increasing number of cities around the world each year. This year, individuals and companies from 147 countries, the greatest number of participants to date, will be turning off their lights for an hour. WWF calls the event “the largest environmental event in history” and whilst the event is a novelty to those participating, it also highlights the dependency upon power and raises awareness of unnecessary power usage and climate change. This year WWF also increased Earth Hour’s prominence through its influence over social media, starting the ‘I Will If You Will’ campaign, where celebrities and the public make pledges to ‘eat a 3ft gummy worm’ and ‘to get in the water with a great white shark’ if people similarly pledge via Youtube to their environmental demands, such as ‘stop using plastic bags’ or to individually ‘sign up for Earth Hour’ on the organisation’s website (http://earthhour.org/page/get-involved).
Whilst Earth Hour by no means solves any issue regarding the often excessive use of power and although there is something slightly ironic in the marketing and publicity of the event being mainly driven through social media and online websites, WWF are definitely attracting a significant amount of individuals and corporations to participate in Earth Hour. Awareness for the ‘environmental event’ is progressing and growing each year and with it, the organisation’s aims for attitudes towards climate change and for a “truly global community committed to creating a more sustainable planet” are increasingly likely to be realised. The event has been criticised for only focussing upon an hour and not a night or a month, for creating unsafe cities and also for being a meagre attempt at creating a lasting change in global attitudes towards climate change. However, for the environmentally concerned, the awareness raised and the amount of people involved, alongside the future projections of the ‘I Will If You Will’ campaign and the prominence of Earth Hour itself, are a very clear step in the right direction.