Earth Hour vs. Human Achievement Hour

Maybe you've heard of Earth Hour -- the World Wildlife Fund-sponsored "event" when businesses, households, and even some municipalities around the world will turn their lights off for an hour to raise awareness of global climate change. It's scheduled to occur March 28 from 8:30 - 9:30 pm. The message, according to sponsors, is to show that humans have the ability to fight global warming.

Well, now we have a competing event, sponsored by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market advocacy group. The event is called Human Achievement Hour (HAH), and CEI has distributed a clever video honoring human achievement. In the words of CEI, "We salute the people who keep the lights on and produce the energy that helps make human achievement possible."  Rather than sit in the dark, CEI calls on people everywhere tomorrow night at 8:30 to simply "go about their daily lives."

Since it's a Saturday night and our office is closed then, NEMA will by default participate in Earth Hour. Not that we aren't doing our part anyway, considering our members make the energy-efficient lights, lighting controls, motors, and other products that help reduce the world's consumption of energy. At the same time, NEMA welcomes the honor that CEI bestows, since we are an integral part of human achievement -- our members make the products that allow society to generate, transmit, distribute, and control electricity.

And while all those people will do fine without light for one hour (unless they're in surgery), the vast majority will be thankful to have their lights back on -- and their electricity flowing -- when 9:30 pm rolls around.