Earth Hour

I was just reminded of the Earth Hour Campaign by a classmate and though of what an amazing show of community the whole idea is. Typically when we think of a community it's a city of a district in a city. This campaign brought together a great deal of different cultures into one community actio, turning of the lights. While I don't necessarily agree with the action that was taken, the ability to engage that many people is simply astounding.

Think that in 2007 there were 370 major cities involved, including places like New York and Rome. Having New York and other major cities involved demstrates to me that peer pressure does work. We are always told never give in to peer pressure but I think the message gets spoiled. No you shouldn't do something just because everyone else is doing it, but the fact that everyone else is doing it should give you some pause. I think that peer pressure really did assist Earth Hour in becoming successful. After all I have strong doubts that if I went to New York and told the mayor that he should get everyone to turn off the lights for an hour to raise awareness about the environment, I am fairly sure I would get a blank stare at best.