Earth Hour - Is It Worth the Extensive Publicity?

Frankly, I don’t think Earth Hour is worth the hype around it. It is, at best, a mere gesture with no practical purpose to serve. In fact, the very provision of a separate hour for turning off all the ‘non-essential lights and other electrical appliances’ is contradictory to the conviction of making an endeavour to save power every single day.

The initiative may still hold some relevance in case of the Western world, known for its indulgences; it might make them mindful of the amount of electricity that they use each day. However, in developing nations like India, where several regions experience power cuts for long hours at a stretch and electricity still hasn’t penetrated many regions, an initiative like this makes little sense. In India, barring the Metropolitan cities, we are forced to observe many Earth Hours each day!

Surely, I do not endorse the other extreme stand either - people turning on all the lights and appliances as a mark of protest against Earth Hour – or, for that matter, even the so-called ‘Human Achievement Hour’. What I believe in is a genuine everyday-concern for the planet rather than an hour-long futile exercise in the name of ‘making a change’.

Now, many would argue how Earth Hour is meant to be a symbolic affair to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change. But, this is not the time to make mere gestures; it is the time to act. Combating climate change won't come about from turning out lights but from reducing carbon emissions.

I agree with Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute when she says-“Environmental challenges will not be solved by turning off our lights and symbolically hiding in the dark. We should be looking to technology and innovation to help solve environmental problems.”

The Problem with Old Sayings and Popular Quotes

These days, I cannot help but sneer when someone merely quotes a famous person or a maxim to drive a point home or to justify their actions. Come to think of it, there is an aphorism or a quotation endorsing practically everything under the sun.

So, while we have someone asserting that "modesty is to merit, what shade is to figures in a picture; it gives it strength and makes it stand out", there is another intellectual who believes that "modesty is the lowest of the virtues, and is a confession of the deficiency it indicates; he who undervalues himself is justly overvalued by others".

Likewise, they say “Try, try, until you succeed”; though, we all know how it is sometimes best to let go and move on in life.

The other day, when a fellow student asked the teacher about the ‘long-run’ implication of an economic policy, all she could come up with as a reply was a quote by the great economist, Keynes -“It is only the short-run that matters; in the long run we are all dead.” Now, how insightful is that!

More often than not, old sayings are overly simplifying and just add an element of drama to the given situation, rather than actually resolving one’s dilemma. People need to realise that the world has transformed appreciably since these were conceived and that they no longer hold good.

Popular quotes are not a panacea for all of life’s problems, and certainly not an acceptable excuse for dodging genuine questions by students!

The Charm of the Hills

“And the last puff of the day-wind brought from the unseen villages the scent of damp wood-smoke, hot cakes, dripping undergrowth, and rotting pine-cones. That is the true smell of the Himalayas and if it once creeps into the blood of a man, that man will at the last, forgetting all else, return to the hills to die.”

- Rudyard Kipling

There is something about the Hills, whether it is Kipling’s Simla or Bond’s Mussoorie. Hailing from the hills myself, I derive an unparalleled contentment from all things characteristic of the hills. They provide an ideal getaway for an invigourating yet peaceful holiday, away from the mundane city life.

To me, there is no greater pleasure than that of seeing the sun rise from behind the snow-capped peaks, making your way through the dense carpet formed by dried needles of chir-pine trees as you climb the mountains, boating on the misty blue lakes, feasting one’s eyes on bright flowers in full bloom amidst beautiful green surroundings, experiencing the slow-paced life…

It is a wonderful experience taking long strolls on the mall road, while gentle breezes, laden with ‘that’ blissful smell, brush against you. The clean and fresh air of these idyllic destinations rejuvenates your mind completely, and the old world charm that these places still retain is a welcome retreat from the heat and dust of the plains.

One cannot help but return to the hills to die!

Why???

• In order to speak of something disparagingly, one has to be good at the same; otherwise people label it as a case of ‘sour grapes’.

• There is such a fine line between being optimistic and being impractical.

• We are so spirited and extreme about our likes and dislikes when young but gradually become impassive and docile as we grow older.

• Everyone proclaims that they want to lead a simple and unpretentious life, free from strife, in the countryside, despite being clearly enthralled by the hustle and bustle of big cities.

• Old days always seem much more delightful in retrospective.