With millions of people around the world sharing this experience, I feel a rising hope for the future. It’s easy to get down when watching endless news stories about melting ice caps and hungry polar bears, but this could be the moment when we start to turn the corner, and begin to make good news happen. Tomorrow the media will be telling a new story, with photos of the dark skyline a testament to the power of co-operation, and the willingness of Canadians to work together to help reduce consumption, thereby reducing emissions.So carpe diem! We have seized the day, turned out the lights, and turned on to climate-friendly living. It’s an amazing thing to consider that over 150 Canadian municipalities are sharing this experience.
Just imagine what we can accomplish together if we make every hour Earth Hour! Tomorrow, when the lights are back on, many of us will continue to conserve, and living ‘The Good Life’ by using less power, driving less, and feeling great. I hope that includes you, because I know that we can turn the page on the climate crisis together.
My kids loved it, we stayed up had some candles told spooky stories and ate popcorn. My daughter asked if we could do Earthhour everynight.
ReplyDeleteChills go up and down my back when I read about the united power of individuals around the globe on this day. Go Canadians! And let's keep this going!
ReplyDeleteWe had a good night here we fixed a nice easy meal and ate by candle light while telling stories of our past . none of us wanted to turn the lights on when it was over we went over time by an hour lol.
ReplyDeleteTurned everything off, but it didn't look like anyone else on the street did.
ReplyDeleteYay for Connecticut... :/
Thank you for the residents of Carbonell Condominium in Brickell Key (Miami, FL) that turned off their lights for EARTH HOUR!!! Katia Ettus/Property Manager
ReplyDeletei am typing this< in the daark . . . it is too dark to do anything else. It is not so bad with just one canndle . . . maybe i will continue to use a candle in my room, why not>? thanks for the inspiration>>!
ReplyDeleteWe went to the David Dunlop Observatory in Richmond Hill Ontario together with other hundreds of people. We learnt about Light Polution, we saw Saturn .... and we hop that it is protected.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. Should do it every month!
Everybody please keep this day in the back of your mind, and make an effort to reduce our energy consumption by swapping out incandescent bulbs for florescent, washing clothes and dishes in cold water, and driving your car less, if you can. We are at a tipping point, where what we do NOW will make a difference for our kids and their kids....
ReplyDeleteOne hour of no electricity! We participated and completed Earth Hour. Now keep in mind that I live in a house with 4 other adults whom couldn't care less about the environment nor conservation nor global warming in any way, shape or form. So when I say we I mean David and I, although the others demonstrated very minimal usage and no intrusion upon our event And we made a conscious decision to not use battery electricity as well, as it felt hypocritical considering the amount of electricity it takes to produce and market batteries.
ReplyDeleteDavid decided to take his bath during this time and since our home is entirely electric, no gas, he decided to fill the tub right before 8:00 so that the water heater wouldn't have to work after 8 o'clock... his idea, not mine! He bathed by candle light and thought that was pretty neat... it was a much shorter bath than usual LOL
We carried the candle to his bedroom and he dressed himself and then we headed into the living room where I had lit candles while he was bathing. David laid out a bunch of carpet samples to make a yoga mat and did stretches while I tried to engage him in talk about what life was like before electricity. Since we had had that talk a few times before, he was not interested and we spent the remaining time sitting side by side on the couch talking about my school I will be opening... a whole 50 minutes of undivided attention, talking.
When our hour was up at 9 o'clock David blew out our candles and we went in to say good night to dad. David crawled into bed, used his flashlight to look at his dog book and went to sleep within 15 minutes! Now that hardly ever happens! Maybe a lack of television and other electrical stimulation is a good bedtime routine for him.
Next year we plan to write a letter to the editor of the local paper inviting the entire city to participate with us.
Things we noted to do while going without electric lights:
Play a board game by candle/fire light
Agree to a mutual letter writing by candle light with a pen pal
Catch up on phone calls so long as it is an old fashioned land line
Rock your baby
Garden by moon light if the weather is nice
Play an instrument for each other by fire light
Engage in needle point by candle/fire light
Enjoy each other's company and conversation over a cup of hot tea or cocoa
Take a candle lit bath
I am so glad I decided to participate in this wonderful group event and to have the opportunity to do something to help our dear Earth. The overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and pride invades me, specially when I read the other posts. Thank you WWF for this opportunity, and thanks everyone around the world for the huge success! Let's make it a bigger one next year!!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea that I unfortunately didn't hear about until Friday.
ReplyDeleteI've been telling everyone who'll listen about compact fluorescent lights. In the past year I've saved over US$600 on electricity, or roughly 4.5 megawatt hours. Using the US EPA value of 1,392 pounds per megawatt hour, that's 3 tons of CO2 that wasn't emitted in the past year just from switching to CFLs.
Hi! It's me and my brother from Peru. We have experienced the Earth hour at home with a lot of candles and good mood. It's certainly an interesting opportunity to share experience, tales and jokes ; to share time an talk at ease.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteFrom Lyttelton, near Pretoria, South Africa
We had a wonderful time,
the kids prepared all candles more than 2 hours before 8pm,
We enjoyed the darkness and light in our Hearts. It was a time for Fun.
We have to do that again and more often. The World will be more attentive
Au revoir
Patricia
Hi there from New Jersey!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe spent our hour (and then some) with candles and a roaring fire, playing cards. My kids thought it was great to participate in such a global event. I am a Cub Scout Den Leader for a group of 11 eight year old boys. We challenged them to participate in Earth Hour as part of a conservation project. We will get their results this week.