Hong Kong shopfronts blasting out cold air reflect a blatant misuse of power
Paul Stapleton says open storefronts cooling the street exemplify how well-meaning conservation events like ‘No Air Con Night’ end up being mostly symbolic, given that Hongkongers’ electricity use continues to rise
Last week, a message arrived in my workplace email inbox reminding me that October 7 is “No Air Con Night”. The message was from local environmental group Green Sense, inviting me to make a pledge on their website that I would not use any air conditioning at home from 7pm until 7am the following morning.
Green Sense is to be commended for raising our collective consciousness about how use of electricity has a negative impact on our environment. And by inviting all of Hong Kong to make a pledge not to use air conditioning, at least some of us may be triggered into forming new conservation-oriented habits.
This pledge has parallels with the annual Earth Hour, when we are asked to turn off our lights for an hour starting at 8.30pm.
While these efforts by environmental groups are well-meaning and leave many of us with good intentions, the simple reality is that they are mostly symbolic. The fact that the No Air Con Night is at a time of year when many would be switching off their air conditioners during sleeping hours anyway is quite revealing. In other words, if environmental groups want the public to participate even in a symbolic event, it’s best to ask them to make only a minimal sacrifice. Likewise, Earth Hour proponents dare not to ask more of us than an hour in the dark.
Changing habits on a daily basis can make a big difference in helping the Earth Day Network achieve its objectives
In the meantime, our residential electricity consumption here in Hong Kong marches onwards and upwards, increasing by an average of over 2 per cent a year since 2004, which far outpaces our population growth. Simply stated, this means the average person is using more and more electricity. And Green Sense is correct in highlighting our use of air conditioning because close to a third of our total residential consumption of electricity is used for cooling.
