Earth Hour 2008

So do you know about Earth Hour? It began last year in Sydney, Australia and was a huge event: 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses turned off their lights for one hour. This year it has gone global. The above compilation of photos is from NASA's images taken last year on March 31st. Pretty cool, huh?

According to WWF Canada (that's World Wildlife Federation, not the wrestling league!):

"Canada has one of the highest participation rates around the globe with over 150 cities participating! Many buildings and landmarks will turn off their lights. These include the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, Toronto Eaton Centre, Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Honest Ed’s in Ontario; the Olympic Flag, City Hall Clock and all buildings in which the City of Vancouver operate; and the MacDonald Bridge, City Hall, and Parade Square in Halifax."

The main goal of Earth Hour is, of course, to raise awareness. It reminds all of us to be intentional about our energy use... to think again about the impact our luxury is having on this increasingly fragile planet... to pause in our frantic consumption to imagine a lighter way of living.

I plan to turn off the lights and other energy-consuming doodads tomorrow night. (Surprise, honey!) But I'm also thinking ahead to what we can carry over into regular life to reduce our footprint. Maybe we'll follow the example of friends who participated in TV Turnoff Week last year and decided to make it a monthly event. Maybe we'll try to figure out what electronics we can unplug each night (since electronics and appliances not in use count for 10% of a household's energy drain). Maybe... I don't know. Something! Maybe you have some ideas, too, about how we can cut back.

For now, though, here's the first-evah poll here at those marvelous mealeys. If you are participating in Earth Hour this year, I would love to hear about what you plan to do with the lights out. (Keep it clean, eh?)

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