Four quick thoughts on events that come around this time of year…
1. Solar zenith in Singapore and what the Equinox is all about
At 1:11 PM Singapore time, the sun passed directly overhead here in Singapore. Vertical structures cast no shadows. We are a couple of days behind the Equinox, because we are about 1.3° North of the equator. (For those of you who don’t grok what the Equinox is, it’s one of the two days of the year when the sun is directly overhead when viewed from the Earth’s equator.)
2. Earth Hour – how useful is it?
I’m all in favor of events that make people think seriously about sustainability. Earth Hour is meant to help people think about energy conservation, by asking people to turn off their lights for an hour (Earth Hour: 28 March 2015 at 8:30-9:30pm local time, wherever you are). As this hour of “lights off” passes around the globe, we will no doubt save a lot of energy. This is one of the bigger environmental events in Singapore, and lots of usually excessive lighting in/on skyscrapers goes dark for the hour. Perhaps, around the world, people will get to see more stars with darker skies, and remember that not everything needs constant illumination, and you can have a lot of fun in the dark. I hope that’s how people take it.
However, I worry that people will continue to associate conservation with deprivation. I’m all in favor of doing less with less when appropriate, but we can also do a lot more with less harm as well. This event (and other “turn it off” events), perhaps fail to highlight that sufficiently, by putting the focus on sacrifice instead of innovation.
3. Ape-ril is almost upon us
Ape-ril is a great excuse for a silly fundraising campaign by my friends at Sumatran Orangutan Society. Get in touch with the 96.4% of your genome that is indistinguishable from orangutans. Gents, prepare to grow that facial hair!
4. Earth Day is April 22nd
Earth Day has been happening every year on April 22nd since a couple months after I was born. I believe this makes me one of the key organizers, somehow. Well, I was involved in planning local events in California for 9 or 10 of those years, starting in 1987 or 88 at Todos Santos Plaza in Concord, CA.
Earth Day has become a fairly international thing, but I haven’t been involved this year or in 2014, as it doesn’t seem to be celebrated here in Singapore. I’m hoping all my friends back at Cabrillo Green Steps are getting party plans in place – I’ll be thinking about you.
Enjoy Spring!
Ponderings of a Perplexed Primate 