Earth Hour: Media Hype or Effective Awareness Building?

Image via Wikipedia

I enjoyed my Earth Hour at home with a warm bath and some pleasant conversation with my husband. It was surprisingly relaxing to spend an evening without lights, tv or computer, but did it really make a difference?

In the long run, spending an hour in the dark once a year is unlikely to significantly reduce my carbon footprint, or impact climate change in a meaningful way. So does this mean its all just media hype?

Of course not! Earth Hour is about building awareness about climate change and how each of us can make choices that can help to reduce our impact on the planet. Its about how collectively we are powerful. Its about making us think about the things we do.

Earth Hour was a reminder for me about how much I take for granted. Lights that turn on at the flick of a switch, television, my computer, constant hot water, a hot drink in minutes, smoke free cooking (well most of the time!) . . .

For a quarter of humanity this is sheer luxury. Some 1.6 billion people live without electricity. In developing countries some 2.5 billion people are forced to rely on wood, charcoal and animal dung to meet their energy needs for cooking. Indoor air pollution resulting from the use of solid fuels claims the lives of 1.5 million people each year, more than half of them below the age of five: that is 4000 deaths a day.

Earth Hour made me think about the way my family and I consume resources as we go about our daily lives. There is a huge global disparity between the haves and the have-nots:

The 12 percent of the world’s population that lives in North America and Western Europe accounts for 60 percent of private consumption spending, while the one-third living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only 3.2 percent (The State of Consumption)

By choosing to consume less - whether it be electricity, chocolate bars or petrol - we do something to even things up. By choosing to consume less and donating even a portion of the savings we make to charities that address global poverty we are doing even more.

What did Earth Hour mean to you?

Don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from!

There are times when an argument put forward is so glaringly flawed, breathtakingly idiotic and utterly without common sense that it defies belief. This I believe is one of them:

“Besides, the whole concept that we’re “running out of room” to put our garbage and/or have landfills is absolutely ridiculous. If you took every man woman and child currently living on the Earth (6,706,993,152 as of July 2008) and moved them all to Australia we’d each still have roughly a third of an acre of our own private land (Australia is roughly 2,967,909 sq mi. There are 640 acres in a square mile which means there are 1,899,461,760 acres in Australia. Divided by the Earth’s population, we each get 0.28 acres). That would leave the entire rest of the planet empty. Do you not think we could fit both recreational area as well as vast amounts of landfill space on all of North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia? Of course I’m not suggesting that we undertake such a ridiculous plan, but it should clarify that the Earth has plenty of empty land that could be used for waste disposal.”

Morgan Hill Review

I am flabbergasted that any sane person would put forward such a ludicrous suggestion. Even with the caveat at the end of the paragraph. In fact, that makes it worse “the Earth has plenty of empty land that could be used for waste disposal”.

I don't know of any vast tracts of empty land that could be better used as a landfill. Image via WikipediaPerhaps the beautiful Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. Its full of sandflies and really doesn't serve any useful purpose.

Image by nunavut via FlickrThe Sahara desert, I guess, really isn't the most productive area, we could do without that.

Image by Ron Layters via FlickrOh, the Grand Canyon – you wouldn't even have to dig a hole there!

Honestly, have people become so deeply disconnected with the land that they only see it as having value if it is under cultivation, making money, or directly and measurably benefiting the needs of humankind?

The whole idea that there is “plenty of empty land that could be used for waste disposal” calls to mind the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. If we continue to squander the planets natural resource as we are, if we pay no mind to the mindnumbingly vast quantities of waste we produce as a result of our consumption, then sooner or later we will find ourselves sitting in front of a pile of dirty dishes.

Nature is not here to serve us. It will continue on perfectly well long after we are gone from the planet. However, we will not fare so well if the earth's eco-system becomes irreversibly changed and can no longer sustain the conditions we need for our continued survival. Its in our best interests to consume wisely, to live lightly, and to value the environment in and of itself.

The Best Way to Save the World is to Save Yourself

Image via Wikipedia

The best way to save the world is to save yourself. Sweep your own doorstep. Tend your own garden. Always do what you've agreed to do. Never take anything that's not yours. Be generous, but sceptical, kind, but not naive.
- The Daily Reckoning Australia

Poverty, violence, hunger, war, global warming, religious intolerance, terrorism . . . the problems of the world may seem big, but the solutions to them are small. They start with one person, you. They start with simple actions, the kind of things that you, and I , can do everyday. Grand gestures are exciting, but its the little things that really count. Their effects ripple out from our own lives and make a difference in the lives of others.

1. Put your money where your mouth is
   Live by your values. Its easy to complain, its easy to throw up your arms in horror. But if you want to make a difference you need to have the courage of your convictions and you need to take action. Stand up for what you believe in.
   
   
2. Do less
   Sometimes less really is more. Spend less time talking and more time listening to others. Make a point of consuming less. Use less resources. Drive less and walk or cycle more. Eat less meat. Slow down and enjoy life.
   
   
3. Value the things you have
   Do you really need more Stuff? Do you need a new car, a bigger house, another TV? For many of us more stuff means more debt. And more debt means less time and more stress. Appreciate the things you already have.
   
   
4. Build relationships
   People are more important than things. Really! Make your life's focus more about people and less about Stuff. Cultivate your friendships, treat everyone you meet with respect, be kind.
   
   
5. Share what you have
   If any one thing can make a difference to the world then it has to be generosity. It doesn't have to be on a huge scale - we can't all give like Bill Gates. Be generous with your love, your time, your possessions, your money. Giving generously creates a feeling of abundance. It makes us less afraid of what we might lose, it builds community and connects people, it creates opportunity.
   

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Shop Local - Think Global

Image by lumierefl via FlickrIf you have aspirations to Make a Difference, but are hamstrung by indecision about where to start, who to support or how to put your money where your mouth is, consider starting local.

Supporting your community, neighbourhood and local economy makes a huge difference, and the effects don't just stop at your backyard, by keeping your focus local you can have a global impact. See the list below to find out how living local can positively impact you, your community and the world:

1. Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
   Goods that are locally made or grown don't have to travel so far to get from the producer to you. According to the World Watch Paper "Home Grown: The case for local food in a global market" a basic diet consisting of imported ingredients can use around four times the energy, and generate four times the greenhouse gas emissions, of an equivalent diet from local ingredients.
   
   
2. Keep your Money Local
   A study by the Independent Business Alliance in Austin, Texas found that for every $100 spent at local businesses $45 went back to the community. By comparison, for every $100 spent at a Chain Store, only $13 stayed in the community. This money helps to create jobs, supports local producers and raises local incomes.
   
   On a global scale, for developing nations, a focus on local production and local markets ensures that people are fed, that precious foreign exchange stays in the country, and that they are not so dependent on fickle international markets.
   
   
3. Reduce Waste & Pollution
   Products that travel long distance need extra packaging for the journey. Food is treated with preservatives and additives so it lasts the distance. Local products don't need this extra, and locally grown food is fresher, tastier and healthier.
   
   Industrial agriculture is chemical and energy intensive. It pollutes our land and our water ways. Greedy global corporations focused on profit exploit workers in sweatshop conditions. Local producers working for local markets are more accountable to their communities. They are not focused on constant growth, and work within a more sustainable economic model.
   
   
4. Encourage Crop Diversity
   Industrial farms like economies of scale. Its easier and more 'efficient' to grow one variety of carrot than half a dozen. Its much easier to just grow carrots instead of carrots and potatoes and broccoli and tomatoes. Industrial farms growing for export grow food that will travel well and still look the part when it gets where its going, and that isn't necessarily the best tasting or most nutritious variety.
   Image via Wikipedia
   Local farmers producing for local markets can grow what their customers want to buy. They can grow varieties of fruit or vegetables that suit local conditions, which reduces the amount of chemicals used on the crops. According to Home Grown "diverse organic and ecological farms, which rely less on purchased inputs and more on taking advantage of the ecological processes in the field, cost less to maintain and make more efficient use of land, nutrients, energy, and otherinputs, than do chemical-intensive monocultures."
   
   
5. Fair Made-Traded-Grown
   Producing for the local market cuts out the middlemen that eat into producers income. In America studies have shown that farmers only get 20 cents of each dollar Americans spend on food. The other 80 cents is gobbled up by packaging, transportation, processing and advertising. So buying local, from local farmers, businesses, and producers means they get a fair price for their hard work - and you still get things cheaper!!
   

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5 Ways to Create Abundance in an Economic Downturn

Image via WikipediaNow, I know its a little early to be thinking of Christmas already, but this evening I was somewhat troubled to hear a national news broadcast trumpeting Christmas Misery ahead for New Zealanders on the back of the decreasing value of the New Zealand Dollar. Apparently we are all doomed to a miserable Christmas because the prices of imported goods are due to rise as our purchasing power diminishes.

Sure, times are tough, the economy is unstable, people are losing their jobs & their homes. Its frightening. However, this kind of foolish media scaremongering really irritates me. It helps the recession take a hold in people's minds by creating a mindset of scarcity and fear. It encourages people to focus on what they don't have, or can't afford rather than encouraging us to be creative with what we do have. It focuses our attention on stuff rather than on people.

Not being able to afford to purchase expensive presents at Christmas time is surely not the most newsworthy aspect of the current economic crisis. In fact, the kind of rampant, foolish consumerism that it represents is part of the cause of our current woes.

Here's a few tips to help you create a mindset of abundance amidst the economic chaos:

1. Decide what is Important
   Take time to think about the things that you value most. Make a list of the 4 or 5 most important things and focus on keeping them in order. Simplifying your life in this way, paring it back to the essentials, helps you to appreciate what you do have and stop striving for stuff that ultimately has no value to you.
   
   
2. Build Community
   Get to know your neighbours, the other parents at your kids school, your work colleagues. Build a network of people that you can share with when the going gets tough. Knowing that you are part of a community that has got your back can definitely help ease the fears brought on by the current economic instability.
   
   Check out 5 Ways to Rebuild your Neighbourhood for community building ideas.
   
   
3. Be Generous
   At times like this its often our natural reaction to hoard - time, money, possessions. But in tough economic times, generosity is more important than ever. Have you ever noticed how the most generous of people never seem to be without the things that really matter?
   
   Read more about how generosity creates abundance at Digital Philanthropy
   
   
4. Appreciate Sufficiency
   It sounds trite, but with our busy lifestyles we often forget to be thankful - taking a moment out of each day to be grateful can help you to realise how much you really have and what is important. Appreciating sufficiency - deciding how much is enough - can help the spectre of recession lose its power to make you fearful.
   
   Read 5 Ways to Help You Say 'Enough' for more inspiration.
   
   
5. Be Proactive
   Don't sit back waiting for this latest economic crisis to make your life difficult. Take positive action now to recession proof your life as much as you are able. Start a vege garden, tackle any consumer debt, work on developing good financial habits, support your local economy, get into the habit of driving your car less . . . be positive and creative as you take stock and prepare for the future.
   

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