Saturday, April 4, 2009

Earth Hour

Taipei 101 building before and after Earth Hour. Taipei, Tiawain
(Source: Earth Hour 2009 REUTERS/Taipei/Handout)
Earth Hour

I am sure that you all know what Earth Hour is but for those that do not I will quickly explain. Earth Hour is an hour that is more less given back to the planet every year. People and businesses from around the world are encouraged to take part in the annual tradition of turning off all personal, business, and residential lights for one hour. Earth Hour has been a tradition since 2007, hence, it is not that old. This year it took place on March 28, 2009, at 8:30pm. The aim of this particular annual occasion is to raise awareness regarding global warming.

Humans consume mass amounts of electricity and some of the time people over consume by being careless and absent minded. For example, it is not hard to switch off a light, the T.V., or any other appliances that are running and do not have to be. Thus, Earth Hour provides an opportunity to help us understand that resources, especially, electricity is not infinite and we as people need to ensure that somehow we are able to contribute to the effort of cutting our consumption.

Earth Hour is obviously a step in the right direction when it comes to cutting consumption and raising needed awareness regarding the planet. However, one hour a year just does not seem like enough. My question is: are we as westerners doing enough to cut our consumption, especially electricity, which seems to be a resource that lots of people take for granted? I do not think so. Perhaps this could be related to the fact that we as humans are quite visually oriented. A light or the T.V. that does not have to be on may seem normal and perhaps we do not pay much attention to the bigger picture. Thus, someone may think why should I shut off?

There may be no direct visual benefit of doing this. However, there is a benefit that is not seen, and that is less energy consumption, indicating less greenhouse gas emission which means a healthier and greener environment for us all to experience and enjoy. Even though this is a process that we cannot see; the benefits are all there.

Digital imagery is one way that people can perhaps understand and get a visual sense as to what benefits turning the lights off during an event like earth hour can bring. According to Struken and Cartwright, satellites are a key factor in changing perspectives on visualizing the earth and in changing our ways of circulating the images through which we understand our lives. Hence, we can satellite imagery to help us obtain a visual sense of what is happening on earth pertaining to this particular event which is amazing. Satellite technology, ideally, can help us understand the importance of one of these occasions and that various countries of the world are doing their part in cutting electrical consumption. Hence, this can cause people to want to get involved.