The Red Chair

I don’t know about other greenies and conservationists, but the whole concept of Earth Hour this year pissed me off like no other year has.  It was everywhere I looked!  The hypocrisy of it was nauseating to say the least!

So, now that you have all done your “good deed for the day”, what now?  How many of you have actually been influenced to cut down on your energy requirements?  Did this sanctimonious hour revolutionize the way you think?

For many it seemed it was a good excuse for a social gathering.  How many of you caught a bus or train?  How many of you didn’t hold candles?  How many of you didn’t litter parks & waterways while you enjoy the splendor of watching landmarks turn of their lights for 1 whole hour?

So lets see what was accomplished by this over commercialized event:

1.  More trees were used to print stationery promoting it
2.  More power was used promoting it
3.  More waste was produced in the promoting of it
4.  More parks & waterways were littered by the masses that turned up for events.  It seems that no one cared too much where they tossed their precious candles.
5.  More fossil fuel was used by garbage collectors cleaning up after the events.
6.  More non-renewable energy was used to power everything back up again
7.  More fossil fuel & carbon emissions dispensed into the atmosphere by all the cars that turned up for events.
8.  More carbon emissions from millions of people holding candles
and the list goes on & on….

So I now ask the important questions….
1.  Are you going to turn all your appliances off at the wall?
2.  Are you going to only buy products that have a good energy rating?
3.  Are you going to avoid using technology?
4.  Are you going to restrict any of your social habits that require energy?
5.  Are you going to switch to using green power which is readily available in most western countries?
6.  Are you going to look at alternate means of powering equipment?
7.  Are you going to reduce your need for utilities & services that also use energy? (i.e. phone, gas, cable tv, emergency services, trades & services)

Well are you?

If even a small population of this earths occupants can answer yes to any of the above… then we wouldn’t need Earth Hour would we????

Arguments I hear stating “at least it creates awareness” aggravate me.  We’re not stupid people.  We know we have a problem. Most may have been slow on the uptake, but I think we are all in pretty much agreeable that there is a global environmental problem concerning our lifestyle habits.  Twenty years ago I would have accepted this as a rational for events such as Earth Hour, however after spending so many years pushing this incentive I have come to the realization that it is all lip service.  A token event to celebrate what has now become a trend more than a way of life.

Take a moment, look around.  Tell me if I am wrong.

I make the effort, I use 100% green power for home & business. I took the effort to shop around for more energy efficient technology.  I use that technology to conserve use of transport & reducing emissions & the demand on fossil fuels.  I do the 3 R’s.

Do you?

Maybe it’s time for everyone to practice what they preach.

Death to Earth Hour!
Birth to Earth 365 days of the year!

It was a day for the Australian history books.  Victoria not only sweltered in unbelievable temperatures of between 40 - 47 degrees celcius (108F - 117F), they were also at the mercy of arson lit fires in several locations, and some that were the result of the heat.  Investigations are still going on to determine the causes of all.

No matter what caused what can only be described as close to armageddon as you want to be, it left a trail of heartbreak and broken lives behind.  Lives that are going to take a very long and a LOT of money to rebuild.  Aussie’s are a tough bunch, and we bounce back from most things, however some things take a little longer and rely on the helpful hand of our neighbours in our times of need.  The Australian public has done just that, it has dug deep during economic hard times & given what they can spare to people who have literally nothing now.  But we weren’t alone during this crisis, we had the hope & prayers of many of the International community that kept in touch over Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace and many other social networks.  Not only that, but many of them dug deep into their pockets too!  What a special place this world has become because of this ‘up close & personal’ contact we have established with each other all around the world.  We are all less alone now.

So what does the music community do best in these kind of circumstances?  They sing!  Not only did they sing… but they produced a double CD comprising of top Australian and International artists in only 5 days and generously donated their songs and royalties to help the appeal!!  Unbelievable!!  When the music community rocks…. it REALLY ROCKS!

BUSHFIRE AID - Artists For The Bushfire Appeal features 35 artists on 2 CDs such as Midnight Oil, Hoodoo Gurus, John Farnham, Delta Goodrem, Jessica Mauboy, John Butler Trio and Wes Carr, together with international artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel.

Don’t forget to become part of our growing social network of music junkies.  It doesn’t matter what style of music you’re into, you can be into it here!  Here just a few of the things you can do…

• Create your own mini site complete with blog through Live On The Barrier and customise it to suit your musical tastes
• Keep track of your Twitter account while you enjoy your own music space
• Add to the insanely awesome Music Photo & Video Gallery or add an event to the Gig Guide

Get on and become a member, and if you like it enough to support it you can become a sponsor of On The Barrier & enable us to make your music network all it can be & free of charge to use.  OTB is providing you with a venue to either promote yourself or join the many others who have an interest in similar music.

Music Transcends ALL Barriers!