I wonder if 'Earth Hour' actually changed anyone's behavior for more than an hour? My family turned out the lights (Computer, TV, stereo, etc.) and played a board game by candle light. We discussed the issue of energy consumption and how it contributes to global warming. However, living in Winnipeg, our furnace was still burning natural gas the whole while. And we used our van today to run out to the store as usual.
We try to be conscious of our energy consumption. We turn lights out in rooms we aren't in (usually) and switched to a high efficiency furnace. Almost all of our lights have been converted to compact fluorescent (they don't work well here outside). We usually take the bus to work (even though there would be 2 of us in the van) and when it isn't -40 outside we generally walk to the store instead of driving.
But, it clearly isn't enough. When you look closely, we have done all the things that we can without changing our lifestyle or making significant financial investment. What's the next step? Do we sell our car and only use public transportation? This isn't very practical in Winnipeg where the public transit system is actually worse than the weather. Bicycle is only practical for about 5 months of the year here. Do we invest in solar panels to augment our electricity consumption from the grid? Again, although we get a reasonable amount of sunshine, it is not intense during winter and there is the issue of keeping panels free from snow. We do get a fair amount of wind but I'm not sure how practical a turbine in the backyard would be.
The other way to make a difference is to buy products manufactured and sourced from closer to home reducing transportation and thereby energy expended for transportation. Consuming local produce limits variety as we don't have a favourable climate for many fruits or vegetables (especially all winter). Many other household items are manufactured in China, India, Japan, etc. All places that couldn't be much further away.
How does a gadget geek rationalize the 'habit' when almost every gadget has a very negative environmental impact? I'm trying to be more selective in my purchases. Do I really 'need' that gadget? Could I get one from closer to home? Does the supplier make any attempt to offset the impact of production/transportation?
The internal conflict will continue. When I think about it, it's not me who will suffer from my poor decisions. It will be my children or grandchildren. I just hope they are smarter than we are and find a better balance between human desire for consumption and living sustainably.
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