Earth Hour 2009 Kerala!

Possibly due to election fever, the Earth Hour 2009 did not gather momentum in Kerala when lights went out at tourism sights and homes across the globe on Saturday. The global event intended to underline the danger from climate change has not even affected the KSEB which always grieve for little water in reservoirs. The KSEB head quarters were seen floodlit when a few Nature-friendly citizens put off light at their homes.

Earth Hour is observed as a part of the campaign to encourage people to cut energy use and curb greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. The primary reason to observe Earth Hour is compel people to think, even if it is for an hour, what they can do to lower their carbon footprint, and ideally take that beyond the hour. I wonder why the Government Kerala did not show much interest in it. Probably due to the fact Government need not want to further hurt people who are sitting all the time in darkness on all nights due the authorized and unauthorized power cuts by the Electricity Board. Except a few wise people who often hold back from Government decision by using inverters, all are now accustomed to live without electricity for most of the time. Without any concrete steps to contain the power shortage the KSEB is spending lavishly the money they collect as meter rent and others for making super-star ad gimmicks in channels.

Seemingly, most of the Kerala politicians think that it is the duty of millions of people outside the State to work out a deal to fight global warming. And for them greenhouse gas emissions are no longer a warning. They are not worried of the warming of the planet leading to more floods, droughts, heat-waves, rising sea levels and animal and plant extinctions. Could the Left Friends blame US further as the comrade China has recently overtaken the United States as the top emitter of polluted gas?

K A Solaman