Started in Sydney in 2007, this year it was celebrated in over 4,000 cities in 88 countries according to the organisers. One notable exception from the list was Japan. "It hasn’t resonated in the same way as it has in other countries in Japan" said Andy Ridley, the, very diplomatic, event’s executive director.
Even if Japan did not participate, at least two bloggers here had heard of the event. Kanmuri at Turning Iwatean had plenty to say about all matters green. Kayo at Osaka Life Blog is also disappointed that the local media seem to have lost interest in the Global Climate Change. There was a Candlelight Buffet at Le Jardin lounge of the Four Seasons Tokyo which is the only reference to "Earth Hour" on the japantimes.co.jp site.
At least NHK covered the event on TV this evening. Maybe a few more bloggers can raise the profile of this event for next year and persuade Japan to participate. Who knows, if enough of us work at it, we may see Tokyo Tower go dark for an hour
Could we get Ginza to Go Green? Shinjuku to Shut off off the lights? I sense a possible Action Alert for JapanSoc bloggers next year.
Personally, I always try to turn off lights I don't need. (Don't you?
Why not? Money to burn?) Many critics have pointed out that turning the lights off for an hour is not going to change the world. Well, no, but the world is driven by people, and just maybe, if enough people start to think about this kind of stuff it might finally start to sink in that we cannot continue in our endless quest for growth at the rate we have been growing. I could go on, but I'll stop there.
