Your Light Is Your Vote with Earth Hour Saturday

Story by Kristen Street

Turning out your lights for an hour on Saturday, March 28, will support a global movement to bring to light the issue of energy conservation.

The World Wildlife Fund will sponsor Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28, between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. During this time, the organization asks people to turn off their lights in the name of conservation and ecological conscientiousness.

Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 and resulted in 2.2 million homes and businesses turning off their lights for that hour. This year’s event is looking to be even larger.

While turning off your own lights for an hour might not save you very much money, the combined efforts of many, as well as the statement made by the group as a whole, will be timely and wide reaching if all goes as planned. Worldwide, more than 2,400 cities in 83 countries so far have pledged to join in on the effort. Boone, Blowing Rock, Beech Mountain, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Lincolnton and others will be a part of that number.

Energy and money saving efforts do not have to be difficult. Simple efforts include purchasing energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and LEDs, placing water heaters on a load management system, carpooling, riding bikes, buying local food and weatherproofing homes. Earth Hour is a small step that anyone can take.

Local event ringleader Sandy Adair said, “It’s so important to get the word out about the need for energy efficiency. There are people out there doing everything they can to conserve, but there is still so much more to do. Even if we get a few hundred local families to participate, that’s a step.”

The movement has support on every level, from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s, who said, “Earth Hour is a way for the citizens of the world to send a clear message. They want action on climate change,” to the Boone Town Council, which officially proclaimed its support for Earth Hour at its March 19 meeting.

For more information, click to www.earthhourus.org.

Things to do when the lights are off:

-Organize an Earth Hour party with friends and neighbors
-Flashlight tag
-A nighttime walk
-Candlelight dinner
-Tell ghost stories
-Play a board game
-Build a fire
-Look at the stars
-Make your own music

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