Climate Change: Darkness Envelops Down Under
April 1st, 2007 by SWARAAJ CHAUHAN, International Columnist
In never hurts to be considerate in your general behaviour whether you believe in Global Warming/Climate Change or not. The residents of Sydney got a chance to show that they care…
The Sydney Opera House’s gleaming white-shelled roof was darkened Saturday night along with much of the rest of Australia’s largest city, which switched off the lights to register concern about global warming, reports ROHAN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer.
“The arch of Sydney’s other iconic structure, the harbor bridge, was also blacked out, along with dozens of skyscrapers and countless homes in the 4 million-strong city, in an hour-long gesture organizers said they hoped would be adopted as an annual event by cities around the world.
“Restaurants throughout the city held candlelit dinners, and families gathered in public places to take part in a countdown to lights out, sending up a cheer as lights started blinking off at 7:30 p.m.
“The amount of power saved by Saturday’s event was not immediately known. But Greg Bourne, chief executive of World Wildlife Fund Australia and one of the architects of the event, said Sydney’s power supplier Energy Australia had estimated it could be 5 percent of normal usage on a night of similar conditions.
” ‘It’s absolutely fantastic, there’s a mood of enthusiasm and hopefulness and action,’ Bourne said. ‘I have never seen Sydney’s skyline look so dark.’
“Global warming has emerged this year as a mainstream political issue in Australia, and Prime Minister John Howard’s government has announced initiatives such as the phased withdrawal from sale of energy-inefficient incandescent bulbs to blunt criticism of his refusal to sign the Kyoto protocol.
“Sydney is not the first place to cut the lights for conservation. In February, Paris and other parts of France dimmed the lights for five minutes in a similar gesture, which also took hold in Rome and Athens.”
In a recent post I wrote that “Britain is to become the first country in the world to set legally binding targets for cutting its carbon dioxide emissions. The targets will be aimed at cutting emissions of the gas which causes global warming by between 26 per cent and 32 per cent by 2020, and 60 per cent by 2050.
“In a draft Bill published yesterday, ministers promised to enshrine into law their commitment to cut emissions. Opposition parties and Labour MPs joined forces in calling for an 80 per cent reduction.”
It does not matter whether the scientists’ concern about Global Warming is correct or not. What matters is that an ordinary citizen needs to be sensitized to the fact that we must conserve our natural resources and should not turn into greedy/vulgar ‘gluttons’.
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 1st, 2007 at 9:40 am and is filed under Australia, Global Warming, Social Commentary, United Kingdom, Society, Conservation, Education, Environment, Science, Business. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
