Art in the dark — Have fun with Earth Hour!
by Lise Treutler
Do you know what you’re doing at 8pm tonight (your local time)? Hopefully, your immediate answer is “I’m turning off the lights!”
If you’re already confused, here’s a little background on Earth Hour. For one hour on 28 March, at 8pm local time around the world (yes, I realize this has already happened in some places!), people, organizations, and cities have pledged to turn off all non-essential electronics and energy users. That means no lights, no computers, and no TVs, among other things, but it doesn’t mean you have to unplug your fridge if it’s filled with delicious goodies that are going to spoil, and if your home is still in sub-zero weather, you are allowed to keep a little heat.
Earth Hour was started in Sydney, Australia (one of my favourite cities!) last year, but now it’s a global movement. Don’t shrug it off as a meaningless gesture. Even if you don’t think Earth Hour will accomplish anything — save for the obvious hour-long reduction in energy use in areas of wide participation — think of it as an experiment for yourself. How dependent upon technology are you? Are you scared to be without it for an hour? Why not explore all the things you can do on a Saturday evening during one energy-less hour?
The Globe and Mail has a great, fun list of suggestions of activities for Earth Hour, but my plan is simple: spend an hour creating art by candlelight. We Indyishers create art in multiple forms all the time anyway, so why not throw in a new variable? Mark that hour as one for you and you alone — make it a formal Artist’s Date, as Julia Cameron would surely suggest!
What’s so great about dedicating this one hour to creativity is that we will all be forced to face our projects, whether planned in advance or not, without any distractions. No Facebook interruptions, no email, no must-see TV! Just us and our creative dreams. We can sing, we can dance, we can paint, we can write (by hand, please!), we can improvise monologues or create sketch comedy with our friends. We have one hour where only our minds are in charge of our activities. If you’re feeling creatively blocked right now, this could be the best medicine available: just sit yourself down and do it!
Who knows, you might just enjoy it so much that you lose track of time and have your own Earth Four-Hours!
So: what are you doing tonight at 8pm?
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Published on: March 29th, 2008
Terms Used: activism, creativity, earth hour, environment
About: Lise Treutler
Lise is a Mile End-based freelance writer who concentrates on the arts, yoga, and environmentalism while finishing up a degree in environmental geography at Concordia. All of her electives are fine arts classes. She writes, she sings in the shower, she plays a bit o' the gee-tar, and she loves[...]
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i think it’s important to note that rebooting the power for larger buildings might take more energy than is saved in the hour of off-time. i’m thinking of the cross on Mont Royal, the City Hall floodlights, the rotating light on Place Ville Marie, and other locations that are participating this year (cited from the Gazette on Spacing Montreal).
i also find that people forget the amount of power used to promote an international event of this scale.
but i appreciate the conversation it sparks about energy waste and the awareness it raises about countries being linked together in the destruction of the environment.
it might actually have the opposite effect to designate a particular out-of-the-ordinary time and space when we use less power, rather than incorporating habits of better resource use into regular practice.
i like your suggestions for focusing on creativity rather than a sense of deprivation. it raises all kinds of questions about the place of art that have come up on the blog lately (luxury? necessity? consumable? unproductive?…)
i’ll be at a potluck tonight, so i’ll try to make a pitch for a candlelit dinner.
Posted on March 29th, 2008 at 5:55 pm [permalink]
very good points. but because earth hour is still in its infancy, i think a lot of these debate-points are important to discuss and weigh and see how they fit in with regards to possible future actions. right now, i feel that earth hour is doing its main job: raising awareness. if this one-hour worldwide move is getting government officials to sign on, and actually do it, then at least it proves that people banding together create a united voice that is heard.
but i am also a strong advocate for the hour’s questions to individuals: what to do with no lights or electricity, even for just 60 minutes?
i was going to paint by candlelight, but spike (my dear, beloved guinea pig) died right before 8pm — literally 10 minutes before earth hour. so i held a candlelight vigil for him and practiced yoga, crying all the way.
Posted on March 30th, 2008 at 11:24 am [permalink]
Lisa, I love your enthusiasm in your blog post about Earth Hour. Taking a leaf out of Julia Cameron’s books is alwasy a great idea, and your “art by candlelight” is inspired. I’ll definitely put that on my list of things to try in the very near future. Candles are already a part of my relaxation time. Their warmth and glow is somehow more organic and magical than lightbulbs. It’s as if a whole new door opens with candlelight.
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 at 10:29 am [permalink]
Tessa, I also hear what you’re saying! I think it’s really important to get the discussion going wherever we can to raise awareness. That’s why I encourage all my business students at Concordia to take advantage of all the amazing events that go on in the university, like the Sustainable Business Conference that just happened last month. Also, Dr. Selby from the UK came to give a talk about how to transform universities into sustainable institutions in how courses are taught, how the university itself runs and functions, plus how the university functions as part of a community. It was exhilerating and inspiring to see how these ideas grow in faraway places and also to learn how we might transform our little corner of the world by example.
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 at 10:33 am [permalink]
thanks for your comments, elizabeth! as a current concordia student (geography), it’s great to hear from others within that community and see that concern for sustainability is indeed permeating all niches!
Posted on April 16th, 2008 at 10:34 am [permalink]