Editorial Earth Hour Is Just Tip Of The Green Iceberg
Illawarra Mercury
Monday March 31, 2008
ORGANISERS of the weekend's Earth Hour are hailing it as a huge success.
Large numbers of people in cities and regional areas turned off lights from 8 pm to 9pm in an effort to combat global warming.Lights were turned off in Melbourne's Flinders St train station and Sydney's Opera House to support the campaign.The result, according to ABC Radio reports, was the equivalent of two large power stations, or 1000 megawatts, being temporarily shut down.It is an interesting result in a nation which often thumbs its nose at environmental issues.Recent figures show we have lost interest in the battle against plastic shopping bags.Last year, their use increased by 40 per cent after 4 billion bags (representing 22,000 tonnes of plastic) were imported into Australia.And even in 2008, mountains of cigarette butts are still being washed down suburban drains. What appears to be developing is a piecemeal and gimmicky approach to environmental protection, one that favours novel campaigns and fleeting feel-good responses.That is not to say we should diminish the excellent results of the Earth Hour campaign.But what is needed now is an education campaign and a sustained effort throughout the year to curb waste and to reduce pollution at every turn.
© 2008 Illawarra Mercury