| > | | | | Day is an effort to raise awareness. Earth Hour is a |
| There are dozens of commemorative days, weeks, | | | | call to action. |
| and months to raise awareness about various | | | | Symbolic action, to be sure. World Wildlife Fund, |
| environmental issues and causes. Read this article to | | | | which sponsors Earth Hour, wants you to pledge to |
| learn why one of them gets a lot more attention | | | | turn off your lights for an hour to send signal to |
| than the rest. You probably don't know that February | | | | officials that you want action on global warming. Even |
| 3 is World Wetlands Day -- a day of proclamations, | | | | massive participation in Earth Hour would produce |
| press releases, ceremonies, festivals, newsletter | | | | only the most negligible dent in global warming |
| articles, and t-shirts all clamoring to raise awareness | | | | directly. But that’s actually beside the point. |
| about the vital role of these vital habitats. | | | | The savvy organizers of Earth Hour know that |
| World Wetlands Day is just one of many | | | | everybody who turns their lights off for an hour will |
| well-meaning efforts to create a commemorative | | | | tell ten friends about their deed -- and that is the real |
| occasion to call attention to some particular | | | | payoff for the effort. Marketing professionals and |
| environmental topic. Here in the United States, World | | | | researchers who study human behavior note that |
| Wetlands Day shares the calendar with annual events | | | | word of mouth almost always begin with a |
| such Earth Hour, Earth Day, World Water Day, | | | | personal experience or act. People talk about |
| National Environmental Education Week, Endangered | | | | products they have tried, they talk about places they |
| Species Week, International Migratory Bird Day, | | | | have been -- and they talk about the conservation |
| National Rivers Month, National Wildlife Refuge Week, | | | | actions they have taken. They are far less likely to |
| National Fishing Week, National Parks Month, and | | | | talk about things they simply read or see on TV. |
| National Birdfeeding Month. | | | | The organizers of Earth Hour could have picked from |
| Just to name a few. | | | | any number of energy saving actions to promote, |
| So here’s a key question: Do these | | | | but they have wisely chosen to focus their efforts |
| commemorative occasions attract enough attention | | | | on one - a simple, symbolic act that everyone can do |
| to meaningfully raise awareness about all these | | | | and everyone can explain. And for good measure, |
| various worthy causes? At least in the case of World | | | | the deed is visible to those who pass by a darkened |
| Wetlands Day, the answer seems to be no. | | | | house. Doubtless, the organizers spent considerable |
| These days, Google searches, Twitter trending | | | | time and effort wrestling the list of possible |
| topics, and other online activities provide some | | | | behaviors down to a single one, but they did -- and |
| insight into public interest in various issues. And World | | | | the trend data shows the reward. |
| Wetlands Day seems to leave rather few electronic | | | | Can the wetland conservation community do the |
| breadcrumbs. The number of U.S. citizens who | | | | same thing? Can we scrap World Wetlands Day as |
| search for World Wetlands Day is too low to | | | | we know it today -- an incoherent spray of |
| register at all. The number who conduct Google | | | | awareness-raising proclamations, edicts, press |
| searches containing the term wetlands peaked | | | | releases, events, fact sheets and other materials that |
| in 2004 and has slowly but steadily eroded ever | | | | share only the loosest thematic unity -- and instead |
| since. This even though the volume of news | | | | select one single behavior to promote heavily? |
| coverage of wetland topics has actually risen slightly | | | | When the topic is wetlands, it is a challenge to come |
| over that same time frame. | | | | up with something that everyone can do, everyone |
| So at least by this one measure, World Wetlands | | | | can explain, and that others can see. But the |
| Day comes and goes each February without moving | | | | organizers of Earth Hour faced the same dilemma, |
| the needle on the ambient level of public interest. | | | | too, in the beginning. |
| And this is the pattern for almost all of the | | | | So here, in no particular order, are some thoughts. |
| commemorative occasions I mentioned in the first | | | | We could urge supporters to tie a green ribbon |
| paragraph. | | | | around a tree in their front yard. Or to stick a sign in |
| With one sharp exception: Earth Hour, the | | | | the yard proudly proclaiming it is fertilizer and |
| Johnny-come-lately of the eco-commemorative | | | | pesticide free. We could ask them to wear a sticker |
| events. Earth Hour is about global warming, and in its | | | | saying they had eaten organic and local today, or |
| brief history, the event has produced two sharp | | | | that they had made the call to Congress about finally |
| spikes in Google search activity -- two sharp spikes in | | | | getting that Clean Water Restoration Act moving. |
| public attention to global warming. | | | | Inspired? Got a better idea? Great -- visit my blog to |
| Clearly, the organizers of Earth Hour are doing | | | | share your thoughts. Stumped? I understand. But until |
| something different from the people who bring us | | | | we get collectively un-stumped, we can expect that |
| World Wetlands Day. And the difference between | | | | downward dwindling trend wetlands interest to |
| these two events boils down to two words, | | | | continue, and the uphill battle to protect this vital |
| awareness and action. World Wetlands | | | | resource to get slowly get steeper. |
