With the world witnessing the most successful Earth Hour this year since its inception in 2007, it is hard to understand why people do not display the same level of enthusiasm throughout the year.
How is switching off the lights for one hour each year really going to help save the environment or prevent global warming?
It is hardly the measurability of Earth Hour that attracts people to the event. Instead, it is the symbol that one hour represents - that you are willing to give up electricity for one hour out of the 8,760 hours in a year for the betterment of the world and its resources.
But is this symbolic act enough?
“Use paper bags instead of plastic bags, put your garbage in the right dispenser, switch off the lights when you leave the room”; these are all mantras which have been preached to us over the years.
To some effect, these mantras do work as some of us did jump on the eco-friendly bandwagon.
But again, are they enough?
When you ask someone to alter their habits without them understanding the purpose of doing so, chances are that they will revert back to their old ways.
We have heard about the green house effect, global warming and rising sea levels caused by melting ice caps at the North Pole.
Fifty or forty years ago, people did not live in fear of being struck by natural disasters.
Today, however, the world has been rocked to its core by destructive earthquakes, swept away by devastating tsunamis and torn at the seams by harsh hurricanes.
The earth’s core is warmed up to such a degree that a vicious cycle of natural disasters are on the cards with no clear means of predicting these occurrences.
Malaysia has been really lucky.
Most of our Asian neighbors have suffered the wrath of Mother Nature while we stood by the sidelines providing aide and relief. But how far would our luck go?
People need to understand that their actions reap consequences. Global warming and green house effects are not just myths you hear from school or at an environmental fair.
It is as real as the global weather imbalance we are facing today. Or as real as the fear of earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis unleashing its wrath upon us (think today’s Japan and the 2004 tsunami).
That realization needs to be echoed with actions that are more than just switching off the lights for one hour each year.
Our earth needs more from us - maybe just by putting old newspapers in the correct recycling bin, using public transportation instead of driving, or switching off all electronic appliances when leaving the room.
It does not matter how small our green deed is, as long as it is done.
(By Mizna Mohamed)
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