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Earth Hour: The power of individual choice

By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor

ith the advent of
electricity and the
wonders of the

Industrial Revolution, our planet
now glows like an ember 24 hours
a day, 365 days a year. While these
technological innovations have
brought many of the luxuries of
this modern age, they have not
come without a cost. This cost is
exorbitant energy consumption
and as we all know, this energy
consumption is contributing to
climate change. Although the
problem of climate change is
seemingly overwhelming, there is
hope for change in the combined
action of concerned individuals.
Earth Hour started in 2007,
in Australia, when millions of
homes and businesses turned off
their lights for one hour to make
a stand against climate change. It
has now turned into a worldwide
sustainability movement. Some
of the most prominent landmarks
around the world turn off their
lights to support the cause and
help spread the word. In 2009, it
was Officially “the world’s largest
global climate change initiative.”
Earth Hour provides a great
opportunity for businesses,
communities, schools and
individuals to get involved.
Everyone can easily participate

 

in the simple act of turning out
the lights. Although turning
out the lights for one hour will
by no means turn the tides of
climate change, this is not the
principle. It is more so about
sending a message, a message
that we want action on climate
change. A message that we as
individuals value the health of the
environment and are willing to
take action to make changes for
the better. Hopefully, it will also
inspire behavioural changes that
will be adopted in our everyday
lives.

Earth hour is a great vessel for

. spreading awareness however, it

is important to remember to turn
off the lights all the time. Small
simple actions on an individual
level are amplified when we

all take part. It’s all about
communicating and working with
each other. So spread the word of
the power of the individual. The
problem does seem daunting as
an individual but if we all work
together to make changes to our
individual lifestyles, perhaps we
can make a difference. In the end,
we all have to work together on a
global scale.

Don’t forget; on Saturday,
March 27, turn out the lights for
one hour to show your support for
a solution.

 

— are

Out of control updates

Crossing boundaries with personal status updates

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Events: *

 

What's on your mind?

By Jessi Raechelle

re there not certain things
in our life that should
remain between significant

others or friends before being
broadcasted to the world through
the use of technology? Every day
it gets easier and easier to tell the
entire world that you are engaged
or that you just found out you are
having your first child. Through
the works of Facebook, MySpace,
BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), and
Twitter, it is incredibly easy to send
out a message to your entire friend
network—for everyone to know.
And with today’s “smart phones”
such as the Blackberry and the
iPhone, these social networking sites
are right at your fingertips 24 hours a
day. Granted, it is exciting when the
love of your life asks you to marry
him, but is it really necessary to
update your Facebook status to “is
engaged” before he has even slipped
the ring on your finger?

I have succumbed to the
addiction of Facebook and BBM
and am every bit guilty of updating
my status every once in a while.
However, there are some people who
are just out of control. Twitter is a
social networking site strictly for
those who feel that it is necessary
to update their status 20 times a day
with news such as, “Going for a run,
be home in an hour,” and, “Just got
out of the shower, what a great run!”
My argument for status updates
such as these is that people simply
have nothing better to do with their
time. However, my argument for
those who update their statuses to
more personal things the second they
happen, such as “is engaged” or “just
went into labour” is that they need to
learn some boundaries.

Is an engagement not supposed
to be a special moment between two

people? Should that moment not be
cherished at least until you are able
to take your families out to dinner
to make the big announcement? Not
anymore; apparently 21* century
technology has taken the personal
touch out of the utmost personal
occasions. Now with sites similar
to Facebook and Twitter, your ex-
co-workers and ex-boyfriends know
that you are engaged at the same
time your closest friends and family
do.

Along with personal status
updates, photo updating has
also gotten a little out of hand,
particularly downloading photos
of your kids. It’s as if some people
are their child’s own paparazzi. It’s
one thing to have a picture or two
of you and your child on Facebook,
but dedicating an album to your
newborn with his name, date and
weight is a little much. First of all,
it’s your job as a parent to protect
your child; posting their photos all
over the internet for anyone to see
seems pretty irresponsible to me.
Secondly, did you know that when
uploading pictures on to Facebook
those pictures automatically become
property of Facebook? Think about
it—do you really want your child’s
photos owned by those who run
Facebook?

Let’s take back personal
occasions and keep things between
one another. It’s much more
exciting for everyone if you keep an
engagement to yourself, only to have
people find out when they see the
gorgeous new rock on your finger.
Perhaps updating personal statuses
less will give people more to talk
about in person. The questions of
“What did you do today?” or “How
are you?” will be more genuine if
the person you are with hasn’t read
your latest Twitter status stating why
you’ve had the best day.

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