Earth Hour~~ Are You Going to Participate
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
March 28, 2008 11:14pm CST
Mark this on your calendars, tomorrow March 29th is going to hopefully be a worldwide event...known as "Earth Hour" The idea is that for one full hour one participates by turning off all lights for just one hour tomorrow night, Saturday, March 29, starting at 8PM (your local time).
It was started last year by the World Wildlife Federation in Australia..you can read it here.
..."Earth Hour is a global event created to symbolize that each one of us, working together, can make a positive impact on climate change - no matter who we are or where we live.
Created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, Earth Hour has grown from a single event into a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 35 US cities will participate, including the US flagships--Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco.
Earth Hour brings together communities, local governments, corporate and nongovernmental organizations to heighten awareness about climate change and to inspire our nation to take practical actions to reduce their own carbon footprints.
Earth Hour: March 29, 2008 8 - 9 PM
- Cities around the world will join together in literally turning off the lights for one hour to offer leadership and symbolize their commitment to finding climate change solutions.
- Lights will be turned off at iconic buildings and national landmarks from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Local businesses and restaurants will also be asked to turn off their lights.
- People at home can take advantage of the hour by replacing their standard light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
"This is the perfect opportunity for individuals, governments, businesses and communities around the world to unite for a common purpose, in response to a global issue that affect us all."
- Carter S. Roberts, President and CEO WWF..."
http://www.worldwildlife.org/earthhour/
Here is a video one can watch of the official Earth Hour site
http://www6.earthhourus.org/
One hour won't be a big deal to switch of one's lights will it? I plan to do it..heck will be fun to be in candlelight...so are you going to do this?
9 people like this
24 responses
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
29 Mar 08
I've signed up to participate and will turn off as many lights as I can. I don't live alone and those I live with do not exactly share all of my environmental interests, so I'm going to do what I can, how I can. I'll be turning off as many lights as possibly tomorrow night, but since I need to prepare to head back to school, I can't promise it will be alot of them. And I think it's a really great idea, if not a great way to get people to save a nice chunk of energy if people actually do it that is.
5 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Hehe..I don't really have a lot of lights on to begin with..more to save on the electric bill if anything..usually just have the one light near my computer on though and that's it...mmm..wonder if I can drag myself away from the computer for an hour though..
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 08
hehe...that's okay highflying if you gave more replies underneath.....When my mother was alive we literally had every single light on 24/7 as she had lousy vision and thought she would fall a lot if she couldn't see..mmmm...actually she would fall even with all the lights on anyway...kept me on my toes she did
Do those CFL bulbs really help?? Might try them
3 people like this
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
29 Mar 08
I believe we've noticed a small drop in our electric bill. We've ended up switching out 5 or more lights and we've noticed maybe a $10 or so drop in the bill. That is of course with me trying to turn out lights and unplug everything that I can when I can so we're not spitting out wasted energy. And since we go through lights constantly, it's nice not having to buy bulbs all the time either.
4 people like this
@paid2write (5201)
•
29 Mar 08
Does it mean that everyone turns off the light for one hour at 8 o'clock local time, so that it will take place around the world over 24 hours, as every place in each different time zone joins in?
I like the idea because it highlights how much energy we use all the time, and some of it is wasteful and needless, whilst businesses obviously need to have the power on.
Is it just lighting that has to be switched off, or any electronic device? If I don't have my laptop or my radio switched on I will be reading, and I do use an energy saving lightbulb.
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Ideally it means switching off all electricity for an hour not just lights...and yes 8:00 p.m. your time wherever you are...do no computers, no TV, no radio, stereo..I plan to read by candlelight then...think an hour is not really that bad..hey I've had blackouts in my area (NYC) that lasted a whole three days! 
2 people like this
@bongkarpasang (1377)
• Indonesia
29 Mar 08
I see, so it is based on our local time. Interesting. we always switch off some electronics with timer switcher every night, and the switcher will automatically turn them on in the morning. but we didn't switch off all the electronic devices, so this is really a big action to prove that we care to the commitment about saving the Earth.
thank you for alerting us with this good discussion. 
I hope more people will be moved to care about the Earth and also participate in saving the Earth.
I hope more people will be moved to care about the Earth and also participate in saving the Earth. 3 people like this
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
29 Mar 08
yes Pye we are going to participate. We are going to turn off the electric to our house completely.Every bulb in our house is gone to the clf's Yes pye we will
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Good for you Angelwhispers
I don't have many lights on to begin with, so no great effort really...hehee
I don't have many lights on to begin with, so no great effort really...hehee2 people like this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
29 Mar 08
I plan to participate but like someone else said I don't live alone and am sure I won't be able to get them to take part - even for an hour which annoys me to no end... But then I am the one that's always going around turning things off, unplugging things not being used and doing everything I can to 'conserve energy' then someone else leaves things on all day and night, and complains about the utility bill :( go figure.
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Ever since my mom passed away my electric bill is so much lower now as I usually only have one light on at any given time...the light in the living room near my computer, and then in my bedroom only while I'm reading in bed...I only turn the lights on elsewhere like the kitchen or bathroom when I'm actually in there..when my mom was alive though we kept ALL the lights on 24/7 as she had such lousy vision
2 people like this
@littleowl (7157)
•
29 Mar 08
hi pye'-my sonn has just told me all about it-i live in the UK and practically everywhere here will be turning their lights off infact my son will be going to bed at eight so will turn ours of then-so am with you in this-bb littleowl 
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Glad to hear you're going to participate
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Well I just finished participating...was kind of fun actually..
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Mmmm...I missed an hour at the computer too, but decided to read by candlelit during that time..thought I would have computer withdrawal symptoms but didn't
1 person likes this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
1 Apr 08
Oh man! I MISSED IT!
Here I am getting behind again on my mylotting and missed out on this :(
Though I couldn't have told my hubby about the WWF being involved...cause he hates that group. That's the one single nature charity I am not allowed to give too. He's a wresting fan LOL.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
1 Apr 08
Oh well, there's always next year..this seems to be a yearly event now....Isn't "earth day" coming up?? Maybe could do this then as well, no??
1 person likes this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
1 Apr 08
OH good idea!! Will try to do it on Earth Day -- if I remember LOL :)
There is always next year!
1 person likes this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
29 Mar 08
This was done here about a month ago here with a local radio station participating. according to the station, a lot of people and businesses agreed to turn off the lights for an hour. I have to say though, it was a bit non - event at my work - things carried on as normal, as indeed it had to. If they had turned the lights off, they would have had to stop all working for that hour and that was never going to happen.
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Mmmmm...maybe your place of work should have stocked up on candles to then be able to work....just kidding...I can think of a few places turning off lights or anything electrical would be impractical--like hospitals! Imagine if hospitals agreed to this..and say someone was in the middle of surgery...uh, nope..not practical at all
2 people like this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Well it just turned 8:00 here and I just ofund out so I will be a little late but it is worth a shot. We had a disaster prepaired ness week with our family and it was a blast. We ate BBQ and Fondu and cold cereal and played a lot of games. We had great family time. I miss it but I was the only one who loved it. 1 week with cold showers and weird food was enough for everyone else.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Here in NYC a few years ago, we had one of our "Famous" blackouts that nearly lasted a week...so switching off power for only an hour was nothing..oh, during that blackout relied on a lot of canned foods and luckily have a non-electric can opener..LOL
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
29 Mar 08
i would like to-but too dangerous for mom.
i'm afraid of leaving off the lights that long.
it's a great idea though:)
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
31 Mar 08
i would have loved that.
*sigh* the fun of living with a biddy;)
ah well.maybe i can get some "tap lights" for next time.those are safe..
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Mar 08
I had fun with it. I spent the hour reading by candlelit..
1 person likes this
@theprogamer (10532)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Participate? For an hour?
Is that the best everyone can do?
I've gone several hours without a single light on. I've also done a few hours with nothing on (i.e. "outside time", or "outside relaxation time" =P)
And thanks to the decent weather... I can participate in this one easily.
2 people like this
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
29 Mar 08
We have a lot of energy suckers here. I try to combat them all when I am home. As my mom just leaves stuff plugged in all the time and is kind of lazy and my grandparents aren't as capable to go around doing things all the time, but when I'm not here, things get crazy. I have managed to get the house to switch to CFL bulbs so those aren't so draining on the bill but we definitely have a long way to go to save more energy, not to mention money.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Well I hardly have any lights on all the time anyway..LOL...But I guess most people aren't used to going without lights or anything on for more than an hour...not just lights, but TV, radios, Stereos, COMPUTERS....having my computer off for an hour might be hard to do...hehee
1 person likes this
@theprogamer (10532)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Well its certainly not hard for me. There's sleep, reading, exercise, thinking, sitting and musing (yes I seperate those!). Especially the last two, those are always great. Plus its spring and I can do that more often!
2 people like this
@CanadaGal (4304)
• Canada
30 Mar 08
I didn't sign up anywhere to take part in earth hour, not even on facebook lol, but I did take part with my sons.
I didn't go to extremes and unplug everything in the house, but I did turn off all of the lights and both computers, and unplugged the night light air freshener upstairs.
My two younger sons and I then played board games by candlelight between 8 and 9pm.
My older son is staying overnight at a friend's house, and that family was taking part in earth hour as well. They were planning on having a reading hour, but when I told them of my idea for the board games, they might have decided to do that instead. I'll find out tomorrow.
I'm in London, Ontario, Canada, population approximately 331,000, and our city took part as well. I'm not sure of the exact details, but places such as city hall turned off all of the lights. Our large events centre, the "John Labatt's Centre", also turned off all power, including the coolers that keep the ice frozen for the OHL hockey teams. The Thames Valley school board also took part on Friday, and had many schools do their earth hour between 1 and 2pm.
I like to think I'm fairly environmentally conscious when it comes to power usage on a daily basis, and for about 3 yrs now, I've had most of my lightbulbs replaced with the spiral energy efficient ones, and of course, I'm constantly reminding my sons to turn off lights when they leave a room, and keep the door shut to keep the heat in and the cold out, etc.
I do like the idea of this earth hour, and I hope a lot of people have taken part world wide. The time went by very quickly, and it was a wonderful lesson.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
31 Mar 08
I think I was the only one who did participate in it on my block....here I was sitting in the dark with just candles lit, and decided to read by candlelit, yet on my block I could see every light on in all the other apartments...and can't help wonder if Manhattan itself took part ...I'm in the Queens section of NYC---I noticed on the official Earth Hour website that NYC wasn't listed as one of the cities participating....what a shame, no?? Well have the satisfaction that I did
1 person likes this
@CanadaGal (4304)
• Canada
31 Mar 08
My city didn't do too much overall it turns out. London Hydro said the usage was only down just under 3% during that hour. In Toronto, it was down almost 9%. I believe the Ontario average was about 5% down (that might've been for all of Canada... I don't remember what I heard on the radio news this morning).
I didn't notice many other homes in my townhouse complex with all of their lights out either. Shame really.
1 person likes this
@chrysz (1602)
• Philippines
29 Mar 08
I would gladly participate but I don't think I could really put off all the lights because I have a baby. I must also keep the electric fan open because it is very hot here in the Philippines. A dim light will be left open in case my baby needs to be fed or have her nappy changed.
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Well every bit does help, even if just turning off most of the lights and just keeping maybe one on
2 people like this
@vivasuzi (4127)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Nope I did not do it, partially b/c I forgot, and partially b/c I think the concept is kind of dumb. You just know millions of businesses and ppl turned on their lights at 9 and caused huge power surges. When everyone turns things on at once, it's a bigger power surge than when people leave things on!
I thought instead it would be better to teach people things they can do to reduce energy usage. We, for instance, have dimmers on almost all of our light switches. We leave the lights off in any room we aren't in, and I put my computer to sleep whenever I'm gonna be away from it for more than 20 minutes or so.
Instead of telling everyone shutting their lights for one hour will save the world, they should be educating people on how to use less energy.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
31 Mar 08
Well certainly didn't have to worry about gigantic power surges when people put the electricity or lights back on...think I was the only one who participated in Earth hour on my block...LOL...I don't have much electricity on myself all the time anyway...just the one light in the living room near my computer and that's it..and of course my computer on...but yes, people should be more "energy" conscious to begin with, and not just one hour of the year--like what is the purpose of keeping all lights on in major offices in Manhattan skyscrapers buildings all night to begin with?? Imagine how much energy would be saved then, just in Manhattan alone??
@youdontsay (3497)
• United States
30 Mar 08
We did! We spent an hour cuddling and talking. We should do that more often!
Thanks.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Great! I spent the hour catching on my reading and by candlelit
@blackbriar (9075)
• United States
29 Mar 08
Beat ya to the discussion, pye. 
Anyways, at 7:29 tonite, I'm throwing the main switch so we are using no electricity at all for the full hour. Only have the fireplace and candles, if needed, for heat/light. My daughter already has the Monopoly game down and sitting on the floor next to the fireplace. lol We usually don't have lights on anyways unless we are reading or working on a project in a room. Hope a ton of ppl participate.
Anyways, at 7:29 tonite, I'm throwing the main switch so we are using no electricity at all for the full hour. Only have the fireplace and candles, if needed, for heat/light. My daughter already has the Monopoly game down and sitting on the floor next to the fireplace. lol We usually don't have lights on anyways unless we are reading or working on a project in a room. Hope a ton of ppl participate. 1 person likes this
@blackbriar (9075)
• United States
30 Mar 08
As promised, I was standing by the breaker box ready to flip the switch when my daughter counted down the seconds. We ended up playing 2 games of Sorry in front of the fire. It was bright enough to see. One thing I didn't think about was those magnetic flashlights. We have 3 of them and they tech. aren't run by electricity even thou they have button batteries in them. The magnet that slides across the copper coils when the flashlight is shaken produces the electricity that is stored in the small batteries for light. We used one of them a couple times when the fire dimmed. Other than that, no power at all in our house. Caroline agreed that we will do it every night from now on if we can.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Seems I was the only one in my area that participated...here I was with the lights out, having only candles lit, and looking out my window, every single apartment had their lights on...sheesh...well least I had the satisfaction of participating..read by candlelit..was fun--think my two kitties were wondering why we were in the dark though...hehe..but then they're used to their mom's rather eccentric behavior
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Well, most of the lights were out at our house because we were off in Cedar Park at the roomie's folks trying to get them online. Just the front lights (and the one inside the front door) the ceiling fans, the light over the range the crock pot and whatever the other roommate left running - oh, and the computers.
but for us, that almost no usage....
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
31 Mar 08
Mmm....my sounds like you must use a lot of power then on normal times...naughty naughty...hehee
@rowantree (1186)
• United States
30 Mar 08
I planned to do this, but I forgot about it. Thursday I did this for an hour and a half, though it was not by choice...we lost power for that length of time. Does that count?
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
30 Mar 08
Sure why not for just one hour I had not known about this but to add unity to this endeavor why not it might be fun. we have replaced some of our light bulbs with compact flourescent bulbs and it has helped our light bill too.
1 person likes this
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
30 Mar 08
Those energy saver light bulbs have come down in price over the years. They are actually more than half the price of what they were 15 years ago.
I replaced all my light bulbs with them last January. And I did it... because I had to replace my ordinary light bulbs every two months. And at one dollar each compared to $6 for the energy saver... at the end of 12 months... I'll have recovered my money... and they last for 3 years and use only 20 watts while producing 100 watts. It is a win win.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
30 Mar 08
I'm thinking of switching to those type of bulbs myself..kind of expensive though...aren't they??
