Earth Hour

I was sent an invitation to participate in Earth Hour through Facebook. I wasn’t entirely sure what it entailed, so I decided to investigate a little. The Tagline read “Lights off for only one hour, wherever you are in the WORLD!” The host of this event is the World Wildlife Fund. The time and date is Saturday, March 29, 2008 beginning at 8pm, your local time, anywhere you are in the world. This was Facebook's description: “This happens in your home or your workplace at 8pm (your local time) on March 29th WHEREVER YOU ARE IN THE WORLD by simply turning off your lights, your TV, your dishwasher, your heating or a/c. You don't have to be in Toronto or a major city to participate. Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a POWERFUL MESSAGE about the need for action on global warming. Be part of making Earth Hour 2008 a huge, global success by telling your friends and family. Remember, every single light makes a statement and makes a difference. Last year, on 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney (Australia) businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour.”
When trying to relate this to space, place and scale I had to step back and look at the bigger picture. I do believe that everyone needs to make an effort to help save our planet, as it is our place. Earth Hour began in one country, but is now operating on a global scale. This initiative is challenging how we use our space on the largest scale; globally. This space that we occupy requires our attention to make sure it survives for future generations. When you think about turning off your electricity for one hour, it doesn’t seem like much. And really it is a very small thing to participate in. When you read what happened last year in Australia for one hour the amount of energy saved was pretty amazing.
Roughly one quarter of the world’s population has access to the internet, and another ¼ of the world’s population has no access to electricity. What other means is the WWF using to notify the other 50% of the world about Earth Hour? From what I can tell, it is being posted in Newspapers and sign’s around the city and most of all, by word of mouth.
There are many ways that everyone within their own space and place can participate on a daily basis by being conservative within your own home or workplace. Just some of my own thoughts are using a clothesline instead of a dryer, turning off computers, printers and monitors when not in use, turning on the dishwasher before you go to bed instead of in the middle of the day when energy consumption is most high. I encourage everyone to check out the website attached and participate. Join in to save our space and place on the larger scale.
http://www.earthhour.org/