The Earth Hour: worth joining?

In a few hours, 8:30 to 9:30 pm, WWF invites us to join the Earth Hour (www.earthhour.org) and switch off lights on a gesture to remind us that our energy consumption patterns are taking a big toll on the biosphere, through effects of green house gases on the Earth’s climate and the impacts associated with the extraction and transport of fossil fuels.

The initiative was coined by WWF Australia in 2007, when Sydney citizens and companies were invited to turn of their lights out for one hour to take a stand against climate change. The Earth Hour spread across Australia and then jumped to rest of the World, where it has become a major event.

But shrewd analysts have expressed doubts that the Earth Hour is actually beneficial in terms of energy economy, and others have argued that the massive, global communication campaign to move citizens into joining the Earth Hour leads to massive consumptions of energy, deceiving the purpose. Yet, others argue that the Earth Hour is not nearly enough as one hour power off is inefficient provided the magnitude of the problem.

All of these arguments are correct. However, these analysts really miss the point. The point of the Earth Hour is not to curve energy consumption patterns by virtue of switching lights off for just one hour. I wish this be all it would take…

Since the Earth Hour was initiated in 2007, the CO2 concentration in our atmosphere has increased by over 8 ppm, largely due to fossil fuel combustion to produce energy, with green house gas (GHG) emissions increasing at a rate of 3.1 % per year over the past decade. Australians, in particular, support one of the highest per capita GHG emissions in the world, at about 4.5 ton C per capita per year, and the emissions of gases and particles render our urban atmospheres unhealthy.

The very likely consequence of the continued increase in GHF emissions is an ever warmer planet, with the present trajectory of emissions exceeding those considered in moderate scenarios and, thus, likely to drive the planet to a far warmer future than anticipated in most scenarios. The impacts and costs of a warmer planet will be unfathomable, as the impacts cannot be measured on economic losses alone, since it will tally in millions of lives lost as well, as warming enhances the frequency and strength of many natural disasters, such as floods, heat waves and droughts, which impact particularly on the poor, but also on the wealthy, as Australians experienced recently in the Queensland floods.

There is little doubt within the scientific community as to the trajectory these trends are taking us, as these trajectories have been communicated, clearly and loudly – above the noise denialists introduced in mass and social media – to society. Yet, we seem to behave as Lemmings, marching towards a warmer future; driven, perhaps, for the same cause, overpopulation.

A chinese proverb says that If we don’t change our direction we’re likely to end up where we’re headed.

Tonight, at 8:30 pm, switch off the lights for an hour, pause on your life and reflect what direction your steps are taking you. This is what the Earth Hour is about.

(Disclosure: Carlos M. Duarte is a board member of WWF-Spain)

Join the conversation

8 Comments sorted by

  1. Stephen Pritchard

    Researcher, cognitive science

    This article made case for climate change being a problem, but did not make a case for the usefulness of Earth Hour in dealing with this problem.

    Obviously Earth Hour doesn't significantly reduce emissions, so I won't reiterate arguments along those lines. But does Earth Hour have any use as an awareness-raising symbolic exercise? I argue no.

    At least in Australia, we have had saturation coverage of the issues of climate change and energy consumption for a decade. There is no need to attempt…

    Read more

  2. Geoff Russell

    Computer Programmer, Author

    I'll believe WWF-Australia is serious about actually doing something when it does 2 things:

    1) stops supporting Australia's most powerful climate forcing ... livestock. With more cattle than people and more than 3 sheep per person, ruminant emissions are a bigger forcing than all our coal fired power stations. But check out WWF-Australia's website on food and its recent support for the cattle industry. Clearly WWF doesn't care enough about the planet to give up hamburgers. Interestingly, WWF-Global…

    Read more

    1. Stephen Pritchard

      Researcher, cognitive science

      In reply to Geoff Russell

      Can check Australia's GHG emissions here:
      http://ageis.climatechange.gov.au/

      Ruminant emissions (accounted for under Agriculture, labelled as "Enteric fermentation") are a big source of emissions (54 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year), but they are definitely not a bigger contributor to Australian GHG emissions than emissions from coal. Power and heat generation account for 207 million tonnes, and transport emissions 84 million tonnes.

      report

    4. Stephen Pritchard

      Researcher, cognitive science

      In reply to Geoff Russell

      oh ok, fair enough. Thanks for the links, great reading. I wasn't aware of that discussion about the global warming potential (GWP) time frames.

      To continue on the point though, just to be argumentative :-):

      When you say 'climate forcing' you are talking about the fact that methane has a much higher GWP in shorter time frames, because it has a high impact but is removed from the atmosphere quickly. if enteric fermentation emissions are 54million tonnes of CO2-e using a 100-year methane GWP…

      Read more

    5. Geoff Russell

      Computer Programmer, Author

      In reply to Stephen Pritchard

      The trick is in how the emissions are reported. Click on the CRF link next to
      Australia here ... (this is the official data):

      http://unfccc.int/national_reports/annex_i_ghg_inventories/national_inventories_submissions/items/5888.php

      Unpack that and you will see the 2009 spread sheet which gives raw methane amounts in kilo tonnes, not CO2eq ... (Table 4s1)

      So Enteric Fermentation 2606 +
      Manure management 83 = 2689*72 = 193 Mt Co2eq(20yrGWP).

      Table 4s2 Gives prescribed burning…

      Read more

  3. Bernie Masters

    environmental consultant at FIA Technology Pty Ltd, B K Masters and Associates

    The most serious problem with Earth Hour isn't that it is a waste of time that doesn't actually make a difference to global energy use. What's worse is that it makes people believe (quite falsely) that turning off a few lights and electrical appliances for an hour will result in a meaningful reduction in one's greenhouse gas emissions through reduced energy usage. As various commentators have pointed out, reducing CO2 emissions by 10 or 20% will require quite profound changes to our lifestyles and…

    Read more