As we head toward Earth Hour here in the Americas, i’m asking why?  Why bother with an earth hour, why set it up for saturday night, local time, when most people are out socializing and enjoying their weekend.  The idea, is to “vote” for a fight against global warming by shutting off your lights for the hour .  While i’m all for consciousness raising and spreading the word, but these cute little events also tend to make people feel that they’ve done something hard, when they’re really done very little.

While i’m good with helping people take the first step, i think having a billion people sign petition/oath to strengthen the fight against global warming would be an incredible feat and would send a much louder message.  This earth hour gets “support” by abandoned buildings around the world not using power, while the lights that aren’t extinguished, most likely because they are controlled by timers or the available light will be judged as protests.   So whether you’re city is too bright or nice and dark, it’s won’t be easy to measure “the vote”.  30+ years ago, April 22nd was established as Earth Day as a way to raise conciousness and advocate for the environment.  Instead of finding more ways to make statements, how about something that focuses on making real, long term changes in the way we live.

I’ve been shocked by a recent Toyota commercial airing on Canadian TV. The ad, basically is trumpeting Toyota’s green credentials.  As in all Toyota commercials these days, it features their Hybrid vehicles and technology.  I wrote about the amazing cost of the CO2 displaced by a Toyota hybrid here: http://sunpowereddreams.com/2008/08/17/the-hybrid-hype-overpaying-for-co2/.  What shocked me was a statement at the end of this commercial - “Our goal? A car that actually cleans the air..”

Well it’s certainly a bold promise for a company that still doesn’t have an all electric vehicle.  What’s even funnier than the statement itself, is that Toyota USA is advertising about “striving for” zero emmissions and zero waste.  Frankly the Canadian ad reeks of an ad agency gone overboard.  What’s next? A car that prevents you from aging, or that cooks lunch?  Why would you put this “pipe dream” into your ad? It might not be green washing  but it’s way past a rational goal and very much on the way to the utopian thinking.

I think it’s way too much for a car company that still runs on the internal combustion engine.