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Opinions

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The world does it with the lights off

But does Earth Hour really make a difference?

By Jacey Gibb, Opinions Editor

et your candles and flashlights ready folks*
because the World Wildlife Fund’s annual

Earth Hour is upon us. But while you’re
busy hi-fiving yourself for being a friend to the
environment, Id like the point something out to
everyone: the whole thing’s a waste of time.

On March 31, the whole world is encouraged
to divorce themselves from power for 60 minutes
in order to raise awareness for climate change.
Each year we're treated to some feel good stats
about how much energy was saved thanks to
previous Earth Hours and how beautiful it is to see
people coming together, but the repercussions are
chump change. It’s gotten to the point where I’m
more opposed to Earth Hour than supportive of it.

You might be wondering what I could possibly
have against an initiative meant to help protect
the environment. When presented as simply as
that, I may come across as a villain, but I have my
reasons.

I recycle. I take the bus. I turn shit off when

_ Tm done with it and make sure there aren’t any

lights left on when I leave in the morning. I could
probably do more to help preserve the planet, but
I still do more than most people I know. So how
is unplugging my toaster and hanging out in the
dark for an hour going to help save the world?

Sure, you can argue that Earth Hour is hoping
for a ripple effect and that big changes have to
start somewhere, but it seems like the event is just
a safety blanket for those who feel guilty about not
taking any actual action. “How can you say I don’t
care about the environment? I was a part of Earth
Hour last week!”

I'd like to introduce you to the term “eco-
warrior mentality.” It’s used to describe when a
person doesn’t really care about how effective they
are at preserving the environment, but as long
as they think they’re making a difference, they’re
content. Plus, it’s not like climate change is an
issue people haven’t heard of before. Everyone has
already taken a side on whether they believe we're
wrecking the planet or if it’s just a natural cycle,
and those in the first group have already made
reductionist changes. You can’t expect a Christmas
Carol-esque epiphany to come over people and
watch them suddenly become advocates against
climate change just because of an annual PR stunt.

Instead of wasting funds/ effort on vigorously

promoting Earth Hour, the WWF should really

focus their resources on more important things—
like actually working to prevent climate change.
There are 8759 more hours in the year (8784 if it’s
a leap year!) so why not let awareness be a year-
round thing?

 

The battle against bottled water continues

Refill stations become the latest weapon in the war on water

By Jacey Gibb, Opinions Editor

a coma and have missed the

movement thus far, it may
interest you to know that if things
go according to plan for the
Douglas Students’ Union, bottled
water on campus will soon be
added to the college’s endangered
species list.

The idea to ban bottled water
on campuses comes from the
Inside the Bottle campaign, which
started in Ottawa in 2007. The
focus of the movement is exposing
the truths behind bottled water,
as well as providing information
on regular tap water. One of the
main injustices people are unaware
of is that despite the sizable cost

LE case you just emerged from

manufacturing and dispersing

of bottled water, as well as the
waste produced regardless of if
the bottle is recycled or not, seems -
pretty unnecessary when you're
talking about a resource that flows
in abundance from every tap and
faucet.

It’s because of these reasons
that the Douglas Students’ Union
joined the movement several years
ago. Since then, support for the
campaign has come in the form
of promotional swag, petition

both campuses.

Columbia.

“Just because a water bottle has a label with peaceful looking mountains on
it doesn’t mean it’s come all the way from a higher altitude to see you.”

work together and install more at

So far, Vancouver Community
College and Vancouver Island
University have both banned
bottled water sales on campus,
proving there’s considerable
support for the cause in British

“We want to enforce the fact
that water is a human right and
not a commodity,” say Cathy Pham
and Pat Thibodeau, members
of the DSU’s Representative

have the option to buy a bottle from
the vending machine and reuse

it throughout the day. Instead of
singling out bottled water, maybe
we should be getting rid of vending
machines entirely so more focus can
be given to sustainable options like
refill water stations.

 

difference between the two types of
water, they’re often the same. Many
companies take regular tap water,
bottle it, and then sell it for a sizable
profit. Just because a water bottle ©
has a label with peaceful looking
mountains on it doesn’t mean it’s
come all the way from a higher
altitude to see you.

Since the campaign’s
inception, extensive amounts of
information have been leaking
out to the public on how wasteful
bottled water is, both financially
and environmentally. The

16

signings, blind taste tests in the
concourse, as well as hosting the
annual Bottled Water Free Day

on March 15. With the majority of —

students clearly in favour of the
cause, the next step is to officially
ban the sale of bottled water on
both campuses, as well as install
water bottle refill stations to
provide students with a sustainable
alternative.

Two such refill stations have
already been installed at the David
Lam campus, with a tentative plan
between the college and the DSU to

Committee and promoters of the
movement, “[drinking tap water]
is a sustainable choice and should
be free and easily accessible to
everyone.”

It’s a good campaign and I’ve
definitely changed my attitude
towards bottled water, but my only
concern is: why are we getting rid
of the only healthy drink alternative
available to students (I’m not
counting Vitamin Water because
the stuff is basically sugar water)?
If a student forgets their water
bottle at home, then it’s nice to