Celebrate Earth Hour

Today is the annual Earth Hour celebration sponsored by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).  It takes place every year in cities, towns, and homes around the world where people and corporations turn off their electricity for one hour.  That's just sixty minutes to substantially help the environment!  The hour chosen (between 8:30 and 9:30pm local times) allows power to be shut off at its generally highest usage point during the day.  This is usually when people are home from work or activities, families are watching television, or the laptops and other gadgets are out in full force.  Since this is such a peak time, it's the perfect opportunity for people to show their support for the environment and commit to conservation for just one hour.

Why is this important?  Well, in the U.S. alone, commercial and residential buildings account for 40% of energy consumption (Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation , 2008).  This contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, overconsumption of resources, and long-term degradation of the environment.  By everyone doing their part for this one hour, we can save a substantial amount of energy and resources contributing to the decline of our natural environment.  So, don't forget!  Switch off those TVs, I pods, laptops, and even the lights at 8:30pm wherever you live.  It'll give you a fun thing to do with the family, a bit of time to be social with friends, or time to just hang out and meditate for a while.  There are some great "how-to" guides on the Earth Hour website for suggestions on what to do along with lots of pictures to check out from around the world after Earth Hour is complete.  Happy Earth Hour!

Bandung, Indonesia

Bangkok, Thailand

Edinburgh, Scotland

(Photo sources: WWF/ Earth Hour Global and Maverick Photo Agency)