I dare you. That unmistakeable playground challenge has been carried over to the environmental realm this year, with the Earth Hour 2012 campaign using the “I will if you will” adage to encourage action on 31 March and beyond.
It's slightly ironic that we are so often called to 'save the planet'.
Lezette Engelbrecht, online features editor, ITWeb
A series of celebs have pledged to do everything from staging performances on the Web to dyeing their facial hair green in exchange for the public's pledges to help the environment. Ordinary people from around the world have created pledges of their own, including jumping off a cliff, getting a tattoo, and proposing marriage, if fellow daredevils promise to, for example, go vegetarian for a week, commit to recycling, or ditch their cars for public transport. Anyone can submit a pledge, no matter how zany, and in the process get thousands of others to join in a greater movement for change.
Not only does this approach extend Earth Hour beyond the 60-minute lights-out on 31 March, it also injects a bit of competitive spirit into the event, which is bound to generate greater participation. Now in its fifth year, Earth Hour is the world's largest voluntary action for the environment, and one of the most striking demonstrations of how small individual actions, when multiplied, can create dramatic impacts. It is celebrated in 5 251 cities and towns in 135 countries, across seven continents, involving 1.8 billion people. Apart from homes and businesses, it sees the dimming of iconic landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, Golden Gate Bridge and Table Mountain (the fact that we have to “switch off” a mountain is telling in itself).
This year's campaign touches on elements of “gamification”, a trend that's been growing steadily in the environmental space. Essentially, it involves the application of game-based tactics to everyday problems. Facebook games that reward recycling with points, status and real-life prizes have proved highly popular, as have off-line programmes that reward green actions with discounts and savings at partner stores.
"We'll let five-year-olds do our make-up" or "I'll shave my head 'male-pattern-baldness' style".
We live in a society where few people will do something for nothing, and the Earth Hour organisers have embraced this fact and turned it into an upbeat and encouraging call: Dare the world to save the planet. The various pledges take the movement forward, generating commitments to ongoing behaviours, rather than just a single act on one day. It's a light-hearted approach to a grave set of problems, and no doubt much more effective in getting people involved.
One can't help marvel, however, at the underlying sense of self-importance, especially since the planet never pulls the same kind of stunt with us. It doesn't say, “If you treat me well, I will grow food for you”, it does so anyway. It doesn't threaten to halt photosynthesis or pollination or randomly change the seasons if we don't comply with its needs. It doesn't have a union or public holidays. It doesn't get a salary, or even much thanks. And it doesn't hold us to ransom even though the smallest shift could devastate human life.
There are no tantrums or petulant bargaining... just the continuing reminder that if we don't stop carelessly squandering its resources, it can no longer function as it used to. Not “I will not”, but “I cannot”. All it asks is for us to consider our own future. It's slightly ironic then, that we are so often called to 'save the planet'.
Yet, there's no doubt human behaviour is having significant impacts on the earth, and so we humbly take on the mantle of saviour from time to time, rescuing our planetary damsel from human-inflicted distress. If delusions of grandeur pave the way for societal change, however, then perhaps the end justifies the means. Game-based approaches are, after all, far more focused on the carrot than the stick.
Welcome perspective
If nothing else, Earth Hour offers an opportunity to disconnect momentarily from the bustle and noise of daily life, and regain a sense of our place in the world. It can serve as a reminder of how much mental and emotional energy we spend feeding the busy-ness, oblivious to the numerous natural miracles happening every day. This hour is an invitation to get lost in the quiet hum of creation and engage in the much-neglected practice of solitude.
When taking time to let one's thoughts idle, one grows aware of just how 'busy' nature is, in its own way. It's not a frenetic race to acquire, but the steady rhythm of activity as life's cycles play out. Venturing outside of the city is always something of a shock to the system: night times aglow with starlight, small creatures making their way here and there - lost in routines and tasks of their own. It re-orients one to humans' role in a far grander narrative, and that we are but one of so many this world must accommodate.
This acknowledgment, while more subtle, can be a powerful catalyst in bringing about the changes this campaign calls for. If Earth Hour's most basic dare is to kill the lights on Saturday evening and spend an hour under the stars in quiet reflection, then I quite happily say, challenge accepted.
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