No offense, I find Earth Hour a good attempt to be kinder to Mother Earth but in the end, I find it just a gimmick for some retailers to earn more money.
I was flipping through the papers on Saturday and surprised to see the event marked with celebrations, promotions and merchandise. I thought to myself, "Hmm... looks like a gimmick to earn more money".
Restaurants creating special promotion, hotels having special dinners and to my surprise, (because it sounds fun), air-balloon ride in a college! I even caught a glimpse of the advertisement saying National Geographic channel will be suspended an hour during the Earth Hour. (Didn't switch on to check if it's true.. lol)
How many of you really took part in this event honestly to pay respect to Mother Earth? How many of you went out with friends just for fun? How many of you went out to buy Starbucks tumbler for the free drink during the Earth Hour? There are many more examples but this is just some I could remember off-hand.
I still think Earth Hour is every hour, every minute, every second. It takes every single one to realise the impact of everything they are doing daily. It's like the analogy of going to the island and just leaving footprints and not garbage. But do you know, our footprints left there has an impact on Mother Earth already.
I wish the goverment would just enforce directly that there will be no more plastic bags use in shopping malls. I've noticed despite making Saturday a no-plastic-bag day, some malls are still giving out bags freely. I wish that they will enforce the people to separate the garbage - waste and recyclable. I wish they can reduce the cost of PV cells so everyone can harness solar energy. I wish that everyone will go back to cycling around instead of driving and producing fumes and poison to our air. How I wish for so much more but wishful thinking is just in my mind. It takes action to make a difference.
There are many other thoughts and different opinions out there. But take a look at the polls www.thestar.com.my conducted as of today at 11a.m.:
Do you think that events like Earth Hour actually help raise awareness on global warming?
| Yes, definitely |
| 48% (1171 votes) | |
| No, it is just another clever gimmick |
| 52% (1293 votes) | |
| Total 2464 votes | |||
What have I done? A simple individual like me could only bring shopping bags, try to separate the recyclables and waste, switch off the lights when not in used (or don't switch on if the natural light is sufficient) and perhaps advocate the use of renewable energies for new development. In the meantime, I'm curious to see how GBI (Green building index) will be fully implemented to Mother's Earth benefit!
Lights out!
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