March 24, 2009
March 28th at 8:30 PM – what will you be doing? Will you join me?
Have you heard about the movement, started in Sydney Australia in 2007, to turn off electrical appliances (including -gasp! - battery powered ones) for one hour? It’s done at 8:30 pm local time, and is done to save natural resources and bring attention to global warming, and is part of World Wildlife Fund… it’s called Earth Hour. Such iconic landmarks as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square were all in darkness for an hour last year…
At first I was thinking (in a cheating sort of way) that I can leave on essentials, like things with a clock embedded in it (DVR, microwave, etc.); or I can simply go somewhere that isn’t going to honor it (bars, restaurants, movie theatres come immediately to mind), but then I think: Am I really so dependent on electricity that I can’t do this? What about all the millions of people who do without what we in the western world take for granted – clean water, safe homes, constant electrical supply. Maybe doing without electricity for 60 minutes will give me an appreciation for what we have the other 525, 540 minutes a year…
What’s your thoughts on this – can you live without power for 1 hour on a Saturday evening? Will you? Why or why not?
And I’d love to hear back from you if you do decide to take up this challenge, and let me know how you fared. Me, I’m thinking board games by candlelight with my family… and in fact, I’m sorta looking forward to it!
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