The superficiality of Earth Hour

Some of you may know that Earth Hour happened this weekend.

Despite the claims about the amount of energy saved, and the amount of carbon emissions reduced, etc. I could not help but feel there was a certain superficiality to the whole event, as though it was a trendy, bandwagon-hopping thing to do.

Consider the following:

• There are 24 x 365 = 8760 hours in a given year. 1 hour of energy savings in the grand scheme of things seems insignificant (assuming this will become a yearly event). Should we not try to work towards more permanent solution? (or to rephrase: Should we not be trying to make every hour like Earth Hour?)

• As already mentioned, the event reeks of superficiality and tokenism. Call me cynical, but I doubt people will remember about Earth Hour in a month's time or two, and resume their normal energy wasting ways.

Earth Hour had great intentions, but there needs to be some solid plans of action to come out of this or it will be forgotten as some yearly special event, when it shouldn't. It should be something that we should be striving for on a more regular basis.