In an effort to emphasize the power of one person doing one thing to address the overwhelming issue of global warming, the people of Sydney, Australia were asked to turn off their lights for one hour. On March 31, 2007, over 2 million Sydney residents opted to trip the anti-lights fantastic and go for dark, sans the whirring of computers or other standing by devices. Due to such extensive participation, the original goal of 5% energy reduction during the dark hour was more than doubled with a final savings of 10.2%. McDonalds golden arches faded to black, a wedding ceremony resumed in candlelight and I’m sure more private romantic activity ran rampant.
That time of year has come again and the 2008 lightless hour falls this Saturday, March 29. The effort has grown to include at least 25 cities in 10 countries, all participating in an 8pm to 9pm local shut off time. The list of participating entities includes the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rialto Towers in Melbourne, all hotels in Tel Aviv, all City of Toronto buildings, the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Weather Channel in Atlanta, to name a few. The Weather Channel will also promote Earth Hour on Forecast Earth. The National Geographic channel will not only turn off all non-essential lights at their headquarters in Washington D.C., they will air more than 100 television spots to advertise the event.
The Earth Hour website offers several tools and tips on how to host an Earth Hour event and if you sign up, they even offer you your own page on their site so that you can corral all your friends to join you in the dark. They even have a dramatic count down which has actually been getting me revved up. So while the most impact comes from the act of the people getting together and making one small change, which keeps me warm just thinking about it, ultimately the goal is to lower the demand for electricity and thus the regulated output from power plants. Spread the word and jump on the bandwagon because for those of us seeking the light, going dark is best.
