You may or may not have noticed this past Saturday from 8:00 - 9:00 pm that many places in and around Chicago went dark to call attention to our consumption of electricity which produces greenhouse gases.
Here is a link to an article in Sunday's Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-world-lights-out,0,3671686.story
As you will read, this is a tradition that was started in Australia last year and this year it was hoped that 100 million people would participate. I was particularly struck by the following comment made by Richard Moss, vice president for WWF, World Wildlife Fund:
There's a widespread belief that somehow people in the United States don't understand that this is a problem that we're lazy and wedded to our lifestyles. (Earth Hour) demonstrates that that is wrong," Richard Moss, a member of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the climate change vice president for WWF, said in Chicago on Saturday.
What is your reaction to this comment? Do you agree that the perception is that Americans don't care about the environment? If so, what can we do to show the world that we are serious about taking care of the environment.
If you believe that we are doing enough give examples. Did you participate in "Earth Hour"? What do you to prevent global warming?
About Me
- Prof. Lisa Cherivtch
- I am a Professor of Business at Oakton Community College where I teach Introduction to Business, Global Business, and a variety of Marketing classes. I have over 20 years of experience in Product Development, Product Management, Sales, and Training. In addition, I am Liaison/Director for the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago. My passions are language learning, international travel, running, and dance. My teaching philosophy is to give students real-world experience in the safe environment of the classroom. While I do have a variety of things that I enjoy doing, teaching is definitely my greatest passion!
10 comments:
I did not participate in earth hour. However, I do take strides in everyday life to try to be as energy efficient and economical as I can. I agree with the quote somewhat, although I do not agree with sweeping generalizations such as that. As a nation we are wasteful. Most people are more consumed with saving time rather than being energy efficient and/or wasteful.
I also did not participate in earth hour ( I heard it later on ). But Im trying to save my house's enery by changing all bulbs with energy saving bulbs. I think specially Americans are more wasteful than other countries. For example, we do not separate all trashes (some people do only cans and bottles because they get money back). I would say most americans do not care about energy wasting.
I personally did not participate only because i was not aware that we were doing that. but i believe that many people do think that we are extremely lazy and do not care but i think slowly people are starting to realize that we need to change our ways. slowly but surely people are starting to take action and it showed that night. i think a lot more has to be done but i do think we are making decent progress. Richard Moss was right in his statement because if nobody cared then nobody would have bothered to participate.
I participated in Earth Hour, although it was during an NCAA tournament game so the T.V. stayed on. I believe that Americans may not be as aware or as accepting of all the theories of climate change. It's such a big country and diverse in thought. I think that Earth Hour is a good way to get more people thinking the same way, small strides in the right direction.
Me and my family did particapate but didnt here about it till that day. I believe that is a
problem right there. How can americans particapate if half of the country doesnt even
know that "earth hour" is even happening. I also believe that we as americans have
gotten lazy. We are spoiled when it comes to the fact of getting things fast. Using all this
energy to help improve our lifestyle is damaging the earth we dont care. Some people do
but as a whole we have little consideration for the earth. We need to start now and at the
youth. We need to let the kids know that the earth is dieing and we need to do something
about it.
I think that the only way to makes us aware of the environment is to increase the prices. Gas it way to cheap over here and I still freak out if I see that the engine of the car is on for 45 minutes just to warm it up for a 10 minutes ride. In Germany we have to seperate our garbage into four or five different trash cans what makes recycling easier. Furthermore we have a pledge on beverage cans (25 Cents) to reduce pollution. That's kind of annoying but the only way to make people aware of it.
I was not aware of “earth hour” but I am always trying to be energy efficient in my daily life. When I first came to U.S., I extremely disappointed when I found that recycling bin in our apartment is not functioning as it supposed to be. I see many American people who try to be “green” but I would say most of others are not so conscious about it and wasteful. Especially people are consuming too much food though there are lots of people with hunger on the same earth. Since this country is rich in resources, it is difficult to let people understand the seriousness of this issue. As such, I agree with janina to raise certain burden to let people act more eco-friendly and efficient.
I did not participate in earth hour. I think it is good that we are recognizing this problem, but much more needs to be done. I too, somewhat agree with the comment. Generalizing the entire country maybe not be the best analysis of the situation.I would say though that, the majority of this country could do better to participate in organizations that work toward the preservation of the environment. Living in an Urban setting such as Chicago which is constantly busy we forget to be conscious of the environment and take it for granted. To show the world that we are serious we can join organizations or start ones that promote the conservation of the environment.
I did not participate in Earth hour but I do somewhat agree with the comment. I think some people care about our environment but some people can care less. There's a lot that can be done to save energy and better or environment. We can use energy saving light bulbs, we can recycle more and drive less. If we all just take time to realize how much of an impact the little things we do can have, I think we can make a great change in the environment.
There are plenty of times in my past where I could have taken the extra time to be more efficient to help our environment. The fact that we don't think of the ramifications from our actions can impact the bigger picture of hurting our enviroment can lead to a devastating result for our future. I do agree that there are those who are too lazy, such as I, who won't take the time to walk an extra 6ft to throw something out in a garbage can. I know where I work, everything gets dumped into one big trash compactor and with all the work that needs to be done, I can't find the time to tell all of my subordinates to consistently recycle. Nobody will care or even bother to think about something like that unless if it's addressed. There would have to be some kind of incentive aside from the notion that we are helping our environment in order for their to be drastic changes. Everyone is selfish and just looking out for their well-being. I know I am, but it's not like I take pride when I contribute to pollution when I smoke or when I barbecue, or even when I have a dozen electronics running in my room all night long. I need to make a lot of changes myself to help out with being more efficient for our environment.
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