Irony of Earth Hour
From TODAY newspapers under "Voices" section:
"If you really want to save the Earth, why light candles?
Letter from Errol Goodenough
The report "What they did in the darkness?" (March 30) gives cause for reflection.
I hate to be a part-pooper but in the excitement to switch off for Earth Hour, many may have lost the plot. I witnessed families switching off a coiple of lights and then lighting 20 or more candles.
At the Esplanade the scene was repeated a hundredfold and it is mind-boggling how many candles have been lit all over the world. If the compaign is about gloval warming and not merely about minising the use of electricity, then one ought to consder the carbon-footprint of a myriad of naked candle flames worldwide.
How much carbon was released when all the eco-disciples switched to candle power? One also needs to factor in the processes that produce, transport and market candles, as these could be more eco-friendly than the careful generation of electricity, which is efficiently channelled to our homes.
If it was about making sacrifices for the environment, couldn't we have gone one hour savouring the darkness?"
Kudos to the writer. Enthusiasm of mob mentality proportion with eagerness for publicity and perhaps commercialism had blinded at least thousands of people in Singapore (not counting people in other cities) to what Earth Hour actually meant. Ironically, they perhaps led Earth inches closer to death.
Even worse was effort of some people chastising others for not observing Earth Hour. Well, for your information (and if you even bother to stop to listen instead of carrying clouded prejudged thoughts), some of us care for Earth in other ways and some of us are horrified by the suggested actions (candles, torch lights etc) by the masses.
So when the next Earth Hour comes along, please think carefully. Do some research. Please do not mislead children. I especially "love" the photo of a guy lighting candles with his daughter...for the love of Earth, stop it!
PS: By the way, there's a chance that this letter is an April's Fool joke. Apologies to the writer if it isn't. Nevertheless, real or not, what it says makes sense.
"If you really want to save the Earth, why light candles?
Letter from Errol Goodenough
The report "What they did in the darkness?" (March 30) gives cause for reflection.
I hate to be a part-pooper but in the excitement to switch off for Earth Hour, many may have lost the plot. I witnessed families switching off a coiple of lights and then lighting 20 or more candles.
At the Esplanade the scene was repeated a hundredfold and it is mind-boggling how many candles have been lit all over the world. If the compaign is about gloval warming and not merely about minising the use of electricity, then one ought to consder the carbon-footprint of a myriad of naked candle flames worldwide.
How much carbon was released when all the eco-disciples switched to candle power? One also needs to factor in the processes that produce, transport and market candles, as these could be more eco-friendly than the careful generation of electricity, which is efficiently channelled to our homes.
If it was about making sacrifices for the environment, couldn't we have gone one hour savouring the darkness?"
Kudos to the writer. Enthusiasm of mob mentality proportion with eagerness for publicity and perhaps commercialism had blinded at least thousands of people in Singapore (not counting people in other cities) to what Earth Hour actually meant. Ironically, they perhaps led Earth inches closer to death.
Even worse was effort of some people chastising others for not observing Earth Hour. Well, for your information (and if you even bother to stop to listen instead of carrying clouded prejudged thoughts), some of us care for Earth in other ways and some of us are horrified by the suggested actions (candles, torch lights etc) by the masses.
So when the next Earth Hour comes along, please think carefully. Do some research. Please do not mislead children. I especially "love" the photo of a guy lighting candles with his daughter...for the love of Earth, stop it!
PS: By the way, there's a chance that this letter is an April's Fool joke. Apologies to the writer if it isn't. Nevertheless, real or not, what it says makes sense.
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