Just One Earth Hour? Hmmm…

No need for shades when Earth Hour strikes later at 8.30pm. That’s when everyone is encouraged to turn down or off their lights in the name of the protecting the environment. Hotels and malls around town are showing their support by doing the same thing, and the world will be a much darker place that hour, but for a good cause.  I certainly hope airport, lifts, and public toilets and cars on the streets don’t take part though! Some places are best not plunged into darkness.

So what can one do in darkness? Well, I am an urban auntie so one hour is about all I can take with no electricity – lights I can do without for a while, but without even the fan on in this heat? 

But without electric lights, candles make a lovely ambience, so I could bring out all my indulgent candle holders, garden lamps and citronella oil torches and light them around my house. I bought some really lovely candle holders from Asiatique (see the pretty picture?) just last week which I will use. With so many sparkly and glittery things around, one just needs a bottle of bubbly to toast Gaia.

Then again, I wonder why make a fuss about Earth Hour when to make a real difference to the environment, we really should be conscious of such earthy issues all the time? It just seems to be such a ‘lifestyle’ event like Valentine’s Day, rather than really thinking of the real issues – even at its most basic level.

A few years ago, we decided to bring down our power bills, which is good for Gaia as well. 

I’ve been turning off the switch at electric outlets and wall sockets when the appliance is not in use, because I have heard that this extra move saves some energy too. (Apparently a little ‘phantom’ electricity is still drawn from the power socket even when the appliance has been turned off – it’s called ’standby power’ and sucks up 10% of your electricity consumption.) All the lights that can possibly be fitted with energy saving bulbs had been fitted with it – even our mood-enhancing table lamps – and everything is religiously turned off when we leave a room. It makes a big difference when the helper has been roped into this practice too. There are times when I turn on the kettle only to find after 5 minutes that it’s still cold.

We also try not to keep the tap running too much when we’re washing the dishes and like the British, I try to rinse out the dishes in a tub of water in the sink. We’ve been collecting rainwater a lot lately, to wash the floor (yes, simple things we learnt in our primary schooldays) and wash out the turtle’s tank. I have also popped washers into my shower head to conserve water. The downside is that the shower doesn’t feel so invigorating but it’s for a good cause.

Lately, I have been trying to weigh the difference between using the crock pot instead of the gas burner in cases when I am doing slow cooking  – like braising or making my double boiled soups. I haven’t figured out which is better yet, cos I haven’t gotten down to doing my research. But I am sure I am on to something there.

On the upside, I have always a stash of recyclable bags in the boot of my car which I bring out when I head to the supermarket. I have been so religious with this that I sometimes run out of plastic bags to line my bins with; but I have also discovered that walking with a heavy (recyclable) bag or two of groceries slung from my shoulders is infinitely more comfy than staggering around with five or six plastic bags of irregular shaped groceries knocking into my shin.

My latest toy is a new bike – a foldable Dahon Vitesse D7 which I am told is speedy and good enough for long, fast rides. It’s so compact that it can be brought around in my Honda Jazz – which sips fuel like its going out of fashion - and whipped out at the beach for long treks to Changi. It’s got an aluminium frame too so it’s not difficult to carry around. I am no cyclist but I’m just on the verge of picking up the sport, and hopefully turn from flab into fab. Then I realise that I can unfold it and zip around the neighbourhood for errands – buy eggs, pop in at Mum’s, go to the ATM – without coughing up more toxic gasses into the air. And it’s pretty cool in a quirky way, too. 

Don’t get me wrong. I respect the concept of Earth Hour and how everyone is doing something to bring across the message of conservation, etc. But just 60 minutes in a year? I don’t know….If one was serious about it, earth hour-consciousness should be a constant thing. So don’t mind me if I may not be doing a helluva lot to be part of the crowd at 8.30pm today, ‘cos I think I’m doing my bit during the rest of the 8759 hours of the year!