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‘Turn your lights on’ urges ‘think’-tank

Article by: Cherry Ripe

AN ORGANISATION founded by prominent Liberal senator Cory Bernardi is promoting an anti-Earth Hour event, urging people to turn on their lights in defiance of the climate awareness movement.

Organisers of ''Human Achievement Hour'' are encouraging households to go about their normal business during Earth Hour from 8.30pm this Saturday to recognise ''the incredible accomplishments of the human race''.

''Don't be stuck in the dark with the communists. Turn your lights on!'' the senator's group urges on its website.

''While earth hour activists will be left in the dark, Human Achievement Hour participants will be going to the cinema, enjoying a hot meal, driving their car or watching television.  If that doesn't suit they may just lie in bed with their electric blankets on 3, alternatively if the weather is warm, they may decide to relax on the couch with a cold beer and the air- conditioner soaring.''

Human Achievement Hour was founded last year by an American free-market 'think'-tank, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, as a reaction to WWF's Earth Hour, which urges people to turn their lights off to promote efforts to mitigate global warming.

In Australia, the Conservative Leadership Foundation, founded and chaired by Senator Bernardi, is promoting the event on its website and on Facebook.

The foundation's campaign includes posters and brochures that supporters are urged to download from the website and distribute to schools, universities and workplaces.

One poster includes a satellite photo of east Asia at night, with arrows pointing to lit-up cities in Japan and South Korea inhabited by ''freedom loving capitalists'', and to a large area of darkness showing that ''freedom hating communists in North Korea don't have lights''.

The foundation is also holding a competition for the most creative Human Achievement poster. On the website a young man poses, with his thumbs up, in front of what appears to be a power-plant billowing smoke.  The poster voted most popular shows a macho "Rambo" type soldier pulling the pin out of an Earth-like grenade while stomping on a crying kitten and puppy.

Senator Bernardi said yesterday that the campaign made him laugh, but it was not his idea and was being run by university students who volunteer at his 'think' tank. He added that he did not know what he would do during Earth Hour but ''celebrating human achievement no doubt- and it won't be bloody happening in the dark!"

RSPCA spokespeople were unavailable for comment, however a telephone counsellor from Lifeline said that stomping on baby animals was "sad and dangerous".  "Why take your frustrations out on a sweet animal", he said.  "It's shocking and down- right un-Australian".

Earth Hour is organised by WWF and sponsored by Fairfax, the owner of The Age. It is on Saturday between 8.30pm and 9.30pm

Source: theage.com.au   'Call to turn on the lights'

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