March 13, 2009

Earth Hour Hong Kong ? ?

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Yeah, right, you say, it’s so 2007 and when are we going to do more than turn off the lights for one hour a year? Except it’s still a novel concept in many places and one waking up the Rip-Van-Winkles sleeping with their lights on.

I’m talking about Hong Kong. The most brightly lit place on Earth apart from Las Vegas, IMO. It’s a neon wet dream. Strolling the streets after dark here is, well, the lure of a sci-fi siren, deadly and gorgeous with light.

Still, Hong Kong’s per capita ranking of CO2 emissions falls well below the US: Hong Kong #72; US #10. And both are far shy of #1 Qatar, The Sheikdom of Squander.

Andy Cornish, Director of Conservation WWF Hong Kong, tells me that Hong Kong has not yet officially joined the 1,429 cities and towns in 80 countries (and counting) that will go dark for one hour starting 8:30pm Saturday 28 March. [Correction: Andy tells me Hong Kong IS onboard, Macau is not… yet.] Three hundred Hong Kong companies and countless individuals are already down with the plan.

The hope? That one billion people all over Planet Earth will flip their switches this year. But, hey, use protection, please, if that’s your orientation. We don’t need an Earth Hour baby boom nine months from now.

As for some of the pyrotechnics lined up in the dark:

  • Sydney (where it all started): every ferry in the harbor will sound its horn at 8.30pm
  • Melbourne: people will pedal-power a concert in Federation Square
  • Athens: a circle of percussion will be held at the Acropolis, people given instruments and led by a conductor
  • Oslo: people will peddle-power light bulbs
  • Lisbon: the city will go outdoors for candlelit dining

So, yeah, it’s kind of 2007. Only the hour is later and bigger and DARKER.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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