Creating A Brighter Future

The evolution of society’s consciousness has always fascinated me!  Just a little over forty years ago, Canada was celebrating the birth of its national identity with the creation of our flag.  During this same time period whispers about a thing called ‘our environment’ and ‘the ozone layer’ where first being heard.  Twenty years ago, this whisper became a murmur as mounting evidence became apparent and people began talking about melting ice caps and deforestation.  By the end of the last century our global culture became so abuzz about environmental issues that it was impossible to go even one day without hearing or reading about the many challenges we will be facing as we travel headlong into our future.

And now?  As I think about all of the solutions that we are creating for ourselves, my heart swells in excited anticipation for our collective future!

Earth Hour is a pioneering philosophy that is changing the future for mankind and each year I play a small part in this celebration! And so do over one billion people from 134 countries!!

Earth Hour is not designed to ‘save’ energy or ‘save’ the environment. It is not a solution to the fact that our global civilization consumes and wastes enormous amounts of energy every day. It will not stop the production of another eleven nuclear reactors this year.

Earth Hour is a growing movement of concerned human beings who are simply stating, “We know that our want for energy is grossly extravagant and environmentally unsound and although we may not have the solutions to these problems right now, we are uniting to inspire each other to begin a process of change!” Now that I think about it that statement may be a bit more profound than it is simple!

In order to help our youth understand concepts such as energy conservation, environmental protection and responsibility, I always engage them with art.  By creating drawings inspired by these concepts, my students are better able to understand these topics as they become more intimate with them through the drawing process.

For the last five years, these ‘Art For Earth’ workshops have helped to create many inspiring artworks that several London schools have used as promotional advertisements for many events… including Earth Hour!

As an artist and a teacher, my biggest thrill is engaging students in conversations about solutions!  Although it is true that the biggest changes need to come from our governments and industry, it is vitally important for our youth to realize that there are many solutions that need to start with us – the individual – and by celebrating Earth Hour we are doing just that!

This year, please, join me and over one billion people from around our world as we switch off our lights in order to create a brighter future!!!

Jim Kogelheide