Social Consciousness, Mass Awakening, People coming out on the streets together for a cause, Rise of the masses - I have another name for it : Fashion.
Adolf Hitler, MK Gandhi, N Modi, Baba Ramdev - I do not see the above four mentioned people in the same light but what is common between them is that all of them are fighting for different causes with all of them having/had great many supporters. How many of these supporters understand/stood what's behind it all?Why is/was there suddenly a mass hysteria about the ideology? And why are/were suddenly so many people following one person/thought/idea?
Fashion is the word for it.What's 'in', what's not is what its about. The 'Earth hour' is in a way the biggest example of the same. I'm pretty sure everyone knows what the 'Earth Hour' is, but if there is someone who doesn't - People all over the world switch off their lights for an hour every year on a particular day so as to reduce the carbon emissions/conserve energy/reduce global warming so as to do their bit in saving mother Earth.
Now, for the argument on why do I feel that The Earth Hour is a mockery.
There is one and only one prime source of energy-Sun. And in some way or the other we have been harnessing this source since as long as we've life on the planet. It was way back in 1883 (127 years!) , that the first solar cell was manufactured. And in 1920s people saw the first solar water heaters coming in for commercial use.
The first power plant run on COAL was started in1881.And the first windmill, which was used for electricity generation purposes, was in 1887. So almost all the sources that we know of today(some which we now know as conventional, others non-conventional) were discovered/first used at almost the same time. But we still rely mainly on coal.(See the following : http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0l3H5nEjDMaMGU2YTNjZmMtOTkxZC00M2M5LWFlZDgtOTYzMDQ4MGFkODlk&hl=en )
The biggest lie that we have been always told is that Solar/Wind power is a non-conventional source of energy.Though everyone is actually aware of the fact that these are the most conventional ones.(Don't ask me how/why)
So what exactly is my point here?
The Earth Hour is just a way of getting all the people together to invest their time/energy/thoughts in a direction which makes them feel that they are doing something to help us out of global warming/save the earth. The focus, which should actually be on the following things:
1. Making the government start more wind/solar based power plants rather than keep on investing in coal based ones.
2. Make the companies invest more in research wrt. Solar power.
is actually on the following:
1. What can I as an 'individual' (within 6.5 billion people) do to help the earth.
2. Sacrificing an hour's energy a year to lessen warming.
The age old myth of sacrifice-to-gain-happiness is actually what everyone is doing with this earth hour. Energy, I believe, should be free for all (as it actually is). No government owns the sun/the wind.If its free, why should one pay?People should be charged for it on a one time investment and then for maintenance purposes on a yearly basis equally individually. (No, I am not a communist.But energy is actually my right, like the right to 'freedom')
Instead of getting more solar/wind powered stations what the companies are doing is fueling such events, which make people think we are going in the right direction. Say, why would GM want its name to be associated with the Earth Hour on one hand but always be reluctant to come out with a solar powered car?(They did so only after the major competition Toyota did the same) Showing the people that they 'care'.
A simple table below shows you how cheap it is to produce energy from wind. Solar is still very high though, but that is mainly due to the initial cost, rather than maintenance.
| Energy source | Costs of electricity production €/MWh | Costs of electricity production €ct/kWh | |||||||||
| Nuclear Energy | 107.0 – 124.0 | 10.70 – 12.40 | |||||||||
| Coal | 88.0 – 97.0 | 8.80 – 9.70 | |||||||||
| Domestic Gas | 106.0 – 118.0 | 10.60 – 11.80 | |||||||||
| Wind Energy Onshore | 49.7 – 96.1 | 4.97 – 9.61 | |||||||||
| Wind Energy Offshore | 35.0 – 150.0 | 3.50 – 15.00 | |||||||||
| Hydropower | 34.7 – 126.7 | 3.47 – 12.67 | |||||||||
| Biomass | 77.1 – 115.5 | 7.71 – 11.55 | |||||||||
| Solar Electricity | 284.3 – 391.4 | 28.43 – 39.14 |
Sacrificing at your end and feeling guilty for all the temperature rising around you is not what is required.
Energy is a birthright and one ought to have it for free, and use it to the fullest.
Global warming is a fact: But if it needs to be curbed, it needs to be done at the source and not at the destination.
P.S. Highly unstructured post, I know.But you get the point I guess.
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