[Greenbuilding] Earth Hour March 29th 8pm

[Kat]

I thought this was an interesting enough idea to pass on to everyone:

from http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1485/

Shutting Down for Earth Hour

I love my computer(s) and internet...no doubt about it. But I'm looking 
forward to powering down my life, and turning off my house for Earth Hour.

Last year, Sydney Australia turned off its lights for an hour in order 
to, I guess, save some energy. Mostly, however, it was a statement. To 
see the combined effect of a lot of people agreeing that something needs 
to be done. The event was such a success that the World Wildlife Fund 
decided to take it global in 2008.

So on March 29th, whenever 8pm rolls around, over 350 cities in 35 
countries, millions of individuals, the Sears Tower, the Golden Gate 
Bridge, and 2,100 corporations including HP, Coca Cola and McDonald's, 
are all turning off their lights.

As an EcoGeek, I can't help but point out that all of these people who 
will be burning candles to light their houses during Earth Hour actually 
aren't doing any good. Candles produce significantly more CO2 and other 
pollutants per lumen than incandescent bulbs. But that's really not what 
this is about.

Organizing mass action to recognize the threat of climate change is 
certainly something that I can get behind. And I'm sure there are going 
to be lots of pretty pictures of dark skylines to share on the morning 
of the 30th which I will excitedly write about.

I've signed myself up for Earth Hour, and will be having a quiet evening 
playing cards with my wife in the dark. I encourage all you EcoGeeks to 
participate as well. Take some time to remember what darkness is, it's 
good for you.

http://www3.earthhourus.org/signup/