More people are doing less during Earth Hour

The results are in!  Earth Hour 2011 organizers boast of the grassroots participation of greater numbers of people and municipalities across Canada While similar events such as Earth Day (coming up on April 22) make similar claims, Earth Hour’s measurable results are easier to contrast with stated goals.  Ironically, the increased number of pledges to participate in Earth Hour this year yielded disappointingly low results.

With more declared participants than before, B.C.’s and Ontario’s electricity consumption dropped at the appointed time, but the drop was smaller than in the previous year.  In Manitoba, most people had not even heard of Earth Hour. In Alberta, the change was negligible with Edmonton’s power consumption actually increasing.  Overall, in Canada, Earth Hour seems to have stalled in its goal of energy reduction.

How do we explain that more people achieved less?

In recent politics to say and not do, a pretend form of participation, is called slacktivism.  It consists in st…