Earth Hour: Tibet, Guantanamo, Spuzzum
March 29, 2008 by Eric Eggertson
Filed under Marketing
GROVER’S MILL, NJ — Today the Mercury Players Mashup Group will be chronicling Earth Hour, a symbolic gesture of environmental awareness to be carried out in more than 200 cities around the world.
The official organizers of Earth Hour is the World Wildlife Fund, a group that represents the interests of animals, their habitats, and people who think animals should continue to have a habitat to live in.
Tonight, Saturday March 29, you can make a difference by turning off your lights for an hour at 8 p.m.
Some reports of Earth Hour preparations already underway:
- China plans to impose Earth Hour on Tibet. Anyone keeping lights on between 8 and 9 p.m. will be forced to sing the official Olympics song, and perform puppet theatre with the Olympics mascots.
- In a gesture of solidarity, administrators of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility will douse the always-on lights in its cells for special prisoners. Unfortunately, the spotlights at guard posts cannot be turned off in the interest of national security.
- Rebels in Spuzzum, B.C. have declared 2008 to be Earth Year, and have vowed to root out anyone using electricity or petroleum products for a purpose other than raising awareness about reducing carbon emissions.
We expect to be able to pass on many good news stories about Earth Hour, as reports flow into the Mercury Players Newsroom. Stay tuned for more breaking news!
UPDATE:
DISCLAIMER: Some of the events described in this and subsequent news reports may be exaggerated, fictitious or depressingly anal-retentive. The publisher apologizes for any distress caused.
Earth Hour News photo by Brigitte Magnus. Detainees photo by Brooke Anderson used under a Creative Commons attribution license.
Technorati Tags: satire, earth hour, world wildlife fund, news, environment, activisim, guantanamo bay, tibet, detainees, conservation, ecology, china, brigitte magnus, brooke anderson
Well put, but you forgot to mention that the militias and occupying armies in Iraq will be shooting their bullets by candlelight between 8 and 9 p.m.
As someone who doesn’t own a car, composts and brings cloth bags when shopping, I consider Earth Hour to be a meaningless gesture. At 8 p.m. tonight I and my family will continue to do what we normally do. The Earth’s environmental (and other) problems aren’t going to be solved by turning off the lights for an hour. What I find sickening is the self-righteous patting themselves on the back that a lot of people are doing because they’re participating in this empty gesture.
Empty gesture! Surely you jest! I’m looking into many examples of powerful changes that are a direct result of Earth Hour.
If enough committed people work together, we can create a groundswell of darkness that can cover the world. ;-)
Hi, Eric
To your tongue-in-cheek look at Earth Hour, here’s a tongue-in-check comment.
The electricity provider in our area, Manila Electric Company, has been contributing a lot to the lights-out drive for mitigating climate change.
You’re late 3 days on your electric bill and you get a Notice-of-Disconnection threat. A day later and the threat comes down on you.
Consequently, with the hard times (electric power in our area is reputed to be one of the most expensive in the region), a lot of homes have been celebrating Earth Hour on a 24/7 basis.
I recommend that WWF give the Manila Electric Company a special award.