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)

Christmas Tree Debate...Settled!

Every year my husband and I go to one of the local Christmas tree farms and get a real tree for our house. I was really wondering this year whether this was a good choice for us as a household that tries to live sustainably when possible. I knew that fake trees carry a lot of chemicals that just add to all of those already present in your home, but I wasn't completely sure if cutting down a tree every year was a good idea.

I found this great article at the National Geographic website that talks about how real trees are the more environmental choice.  Yes!  We made the right decision.  Apparently, fake trees do contribute substantially more to greenhouse gas emissions, landfill space, harmful toxins in living spaces, and water and energy usage. You have to take into account the way the fake trees are processed in factories (usually across the globe) as well as how they're disposed of after use.  Real trees can be recycled and used for a variety of things that may even improve quality of life.  I especially like the example given in the article of using the mulch in local parks and flower beds.

Of course, if you really want to go all out, you can get a live tree that can be replanted and used again the next year.  We tried that last year, but since I have quite the black thumb, I couldn't even keep the tree alive for a few months.  From now on, I'll be comfortable with my decision to continue buying a real tree every year.  Thank you, National Geographic, for approving of my decision.