Lee Dunbar

Mar

28

eh_ad_300x250.gifThis Saturday, the World Wildlife Fund would like us to join millions of others – including individuals, government agencies and corporations – in over 150 countries who will be turning off their lights between 8PM and 9PM local time to demonstrate our commitment to fighting global climate change.

How do we commit to fighting global change outside of taking part in Earth Hour? The WWF has a list of very simple, common sense suggestions.

This issue was really brought home when I recently watched a segment from BBC’s Planet Earth series called, “Ice Worlds.” In this episode, we watch the plight and eventual starvation of a male polar bear. We watch him struggle to walk across the ice as the platform drops out from under him and he is eventually forced to swim 60 miles to find hard ground. Tired, weak and nearly half his normal size, the polar bear desperately attempts to feed and eventual succumbs to starvation and a wound suffered while fighting with a herd of walrus.

What the WWF is asking of us is really of very little inconvenience. Turn off the TV, lights and computer when no one is in the room. Unplug appliances if you are going away for more than a couple of days – a study in Australia shows that a full 10% of energy is used by appliances and electronics in stand-by mode. It only takes very little from many of us to make a large difference.

While the science behind global warming – cyclical weather patterns vs. human-created disaster – can be debated, reducing consumption of power still makes environmental and economic sense no matter what side you are on.

Next time you’re walking out of a room, remember that flicking off the light switch is far easier than swimming 60 miles and succumbing to starvation. /end of blatant guilt trip.

Tags: Community Stuff

Comments

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind

 

Search


Categories

Archives from Recent Months

Archives - Yearly