Earth Hour is a joke

COMMENT: Thank-goodness someone said it.

Editorial
National Post
Friday, March 27, 2009

There are probably already some people who are complaining about how Earth Hour was soooo much less commercial back when the whole thing started (in 2007). The "awareness-raising" event, scheduled for Saturday, may now mostly serve the purpose of raising awareness of how much hucksterism, corporate insincerity and plain illogic is involved in today's shrink-wrapped yuppie environmentalism. All one really needs to know about the nature of Earth Hour is that Coca-Cola--a vendor of products whose existence is unjustifiable on any environmental premise whatsoever -- is one of the leading sponsors and promoters. You are definitely not going to hear the company suggesting that anyone take an "awareness-raising" break from drinking refrigerated sugar water in plastic bottles.

It's almost enough to make one nostalgic for the crazy anarchistic eco-hardasses of the past -- radical enviro-obsessives such as Edward Abbey or Arne Naess, who at least had guts and integrity. They would have been disgusted by an opportunistic performer such as Nelly Furtado, who observed 2008's Earth Hour with a floodlit, electronically amplified pop concert in Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square.

Defenders of environmental "awareness" exercises feel that such gestures are justified in the name of education -- but it's not some sort of exotic secret that one saves energy by turning off the lights during Earth Hour. Household light is, in fact, the most obvious form of elective energy expenditure there is -- which explains why people think they are making such a profound public statement by going without it for a brief moment, notwithstanding the very low cost in foregone comfort.

Not to be overly cranky about a subject notorious for driving many of our fellow conservatives to distraction (Hi there, Peter Foster), but what exactly does Earth Hour teach us -- except that so many environmental consciences can be bought off mighty cheaply? Or that David Suzuki types can create satisfying illusions of solidarity, effectiveness and concerted action by inventing contrived quasi-religious ceremonies for ourselves?

Then again, we're not environmentalists. We're capitalists. In fact, we're capitalists who've been known to enjoy an ice cold Coke, not to mention a wholesome musical concert now and again. It's not that we don't recognize some rudimentary concept of environmental appropriateness in lifestyle, conduct and thinking. But we prefer to put our faith in the inter-twined march of technology and the free market rather than feel-good slogans and rituals.

Technology can serve to make us more comfortable with the same amount of energy, and at a much lower cost in negative environmental externalities. The ways in which it has done so are numerous and obvious. (See, e. g., this week's news of the 56 miles-per-gallon Tata Nano.) Yet most people may not realize, for example, that in some places (like the U. K.), the peak level of greenhouse emissions per capita was passed almost 100 years ago. The inventors of fibreglass insulation alone created cumulative energy savings that defy calculation. Yet most of us don't even realize that our attics are full of the stuff.