Passing an hour for the Earth
Another Earth Hour is underway. I’ve turned off the lights around the house, and the visiting dog didn’t protest. The computers are still working; this is not a simulation of a disaster. Outside, little sign that my neighbours follow trends. In less than an hour, we’ll be back to life as usual. One difference. We actually thought about the idea of using a little less energy, if only for a heartbeat.
I’ve lived where electricity had a monetary value. Lights left burning cost pennies, but they added up, so we tended to darken the empty spaces in the house. Here, not so much. Those harnessed rivers of the north have bred a contempt for conservation. Ditto for recycling, although there has been a net improvement in the decade since the municipality introduced blue bins and carts.
Let’s be frank. There is no incentive (in our economic structure) to be frugal with anything. If I don’t buy, someone else will, or a third party won’t work. Luxuries and necessities confused. As I said to someone at the office, while perusing the local box store flyers. “So much stuff, that I can’t afford to buy”. And if I could, I’d just be filling up the spaces in my sandbox.
My future is going to require downsizing. I can’t take all my junk into a new home. The pair from Canadian Pickers haven’t put me on their roadtrip schedule (yet), but maybe a call is in order. And once I’ve reduced the volume, my participation in Earth Hour will go beyond turning off a few lights for an hour on a weekend evening. For the sake of humanity, I hope so.