There is hope in darkness

STAR Wars is uncompromising in its stance.

Either you belong to the White Forces orBlack Forces. If you are white, you are good.Black? Then you are bad.

This classic blockbuster film is not alone inits either black-or-white premise.

On March 29 though, these two drastically contrasting colours blended to announce to the world that there is good in darkness.

At the strike of 8 o’ clock at night and for afull hour, citizens in 28 cities all over the world took turns turning off their power to do their bit of slowing down the process of climate change. The success of that night stresses the point that we don’t have to force all countries of the world to be signatories of the Kyoto Protocol.

That the answer in reducing carbon emissions – that contribute to climate change– is in our pointer finger. Turning a light off,turning an appliance off immediately translate to less carbon emissions.

The Earth Hour campaign began in Sydney last year and its success has resulted in global attention. In that city last year, it was reported that 2.2 million and 2,000 businesses shut off lights and appliances, which resulted in more than ten percent reduction in carbon emission during that hour. For the 2008 run,it was hoped that over 100 million people would participate. So were you one of them?If by sheer ignorance or total lack of interest,you weren’t, you still have practically a full year ahead to do your share on March 29, 2009.

While waiting for the red-letter day, the www.earthhour.org has suggestions in how you could be an environmental hero as you go through your day-to-day mundane existence.

Earth Hour’s tips: Simple things like turning off appliances while not in use and switching your light globes to energy efficient bulbs will all help in reaching the organisation’s goal of reducing the annual emissions by five percent.Even something as simple as turning out lights when you’re not in a room and switching to cleaner sources of electricity like “green power” make a big difference.

The Earth Hour demonstrated that climate change issues are no longer confined within the hallowed walls of government institutions. It has started permeating into the consciousness of ordinary people and part of their normal conversations.

Documentaries on the topic, such as Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and National Geographic’s Six Degrees Could Change the World, have provided a pop platform.

A friend told me that as much as they could, after watching the National Geographic docu, they set their air-con at fan for less carbon emission. My sister, while preparing to put stuff in the refrigerator, peeled the plastic wraps off the items, explaining that these increase the temperature inside, which taxes the appliance’s motor which, in turn, causes more carbon emissions.

Hearing all these, it didn’t surprise me at all when I read PATA’s report, “Asians worried by climate change”.

The report was based on a Globe Scan survey. One thousand consumers from 20 countries in five continents were surveyed fora limited period last year. Eight in ten or more in China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines expressed concerns that climate change would pose threat to themselves and their family.

To compare, it was 74 percent in Italy, 69 percent in Britain and 58 percent in Germany.“More than ever, there is a need for the travel industry to understand that our customers are demanding that we take action,proactively and decisively, to reduce our carbon footprint,” the PATA report cited PATA CEO Peter de Jong.

The industry could start with the obvious.Hotels, for instance, could start turning aircons off in the guest rooms when the guests are away. And other companies, not only hotels, should also take note. Especially in Hong Kong, where the air-cons are always in full blast even when it is not exactly a warm day. Just like today. And I am freezing.