Earth Hour – March 28th

Earth Hour is this Saturday,  March 28th from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.  Are you planning on participating and if so, what are you going to do?

Last year my family turned off the TV and all the lights, lit some candles and did something fantastic – we talked and it lasted for more than an hour.  I know that sounds pretty strange, but we are so busy and when we are together, we tend to watch movies and interact with the TV.  We all commented on how quiet the house was – you forget how much noise is created by TV’s and sound systems-we are so used to background noise.  It was great seeing all the dark houses on the street  as well.

I have received comments that this is a pretty useless thing to do – but I disagree.  Building awareness of our energy consumption and our own impact on the environment is extremely important.  I am a strong believer in the power of one – multiplied by hundreds of millions of people around the world.  It is very significant and I think it can change the way we think about energy consumption.  One hour is not a huge inconvenience and I hope that this community will step up again and participate.

The City of Waterloo also will participate by powering down all non-essential lighting in City facilities, with the exception of lighting left on for safety reasons.

I would love to hear from you about how you are planning on participating during Earth Hour.