Bright Lights

In just under twelve hours or so Singapore will be plunged into darkness.

Ok that's almost certainly an impossibly inflated exaggeration, but i suppose from all the buzz that's been going around, Earth Hour this year will at the least probably be far more widely observed here than the last.

I'm somewhat ambivalent about it though. Granted that tomorrow at the scheduled time i will probably take a break from planning for next week's lessons and setting exam questions, but that will probably be as much me being lazy and unmotivated as anything else. I suppose beef with the whole event is that i am not too convinced about how much of a long-term effect this will have on the energy consumption habits of S'poreans. It seems pretty much like a touch-and-go sort of thing to me - kinda like a "hey let's all be cool and save the environment for one hour" and then after that go back to one's old ways. I'm not denying that the cool and hip factor is working to some extent, and yup, why not just milk it for all its worth. But as in all these campaign thingies, if there's no accompanying mindset change, then whatever relief to the environment that one hour of darkness can do will be nothing more than cosmetic.

Let's just say that i don't really have confidence in the average S'porean's resolve to take global climate change and our role in it more seriously. Not that we're alone in ultimately being pragmatically minded in our approach to environmental awareness, but there's much i feel i can justifiably take issue with in how S'poreans view the seriousness, or in their minds, lack of seriousness of the situation. While i suppose i can be thankful we're not a nation of Sarah Palins who continue to be in a sad state of denial on our role and responsibility when it comes to climate change, on the other hand, i would be thrilled if turning to CNG-powered passenger vehicles would not be considered an option only when pricing incentives and high gas costs came into play, or if people would voluntarily do away with plastic bags (even if they be biodegradable) every day and not only when you have to pay a ten cent fee.

Talking about lights, would the one hour of darkness make more than a dent to the overall pattern of energy consumption here? I'm thinking of the vegas (or make that hong kong- tackier still)-esque neon lights that front one of the nightclubs near my place, and the increasing number of brightly-lit facades in new or renovated buildings in town. Also the appalling golf course (like we needed another one) next to the Sheares bridge (which incidentally was built on a nice forested patch of reclaimed land) which at night is lit more brightly by floodlights than it is by the sun itself during the day. And the 24-hour ntuc at Jurong Point which is seriously overlit by at least 100% during all 24 hours of its operation every day of the week.

Some things in this world man, they don't make sense...

But still, as cheesy as it sounds to me, i will be "voting earth" tomorrow. And will try my best to do so on every day following tomorrow as well, and not stop. Wish that others would do the same.