Board games in the dark...

Last night was Earth Hour. This means we turned our power off (except for the fridge) from 8.30 pm til 9.30pm.  Not a big deal really. We listened to the crickets and played board games, as a family. One of my freinds says it is a crock, as the power stations still supply power and nothing is saved. I disagree and I don't apologise. I have been harping on about renewable energy, and water wastage since the 1980s. (Possibly something to do with being a farm girl, with generated power and water tanks)

Earth hour started, in Sydney Australia, seven years ago. (We have participated every year, so far). It is  meant to help raise awareness about climate change, the environment. Last year, over 7000 cities and 152 countries took part in Earth Hour.  Earth Hour is not just about using less power; this year the main slant was to get people thinking about alternative, renewable energy and think seriously about changing the household to solar power. I have had solar power, at home, for almost four years now. When I was in high school, we were the only people we knew that had solar hot water.

Earth hour also brings me some peace and quiet and solace from an ever-quickening world. The television is off. The computers are shut down. There is no music. Just the family, usually a board game and the crickets outside. Some years we read books, by candlelight. (Not the electronic kind; they use power!). It is a hour of conversation, free of electronic garble and always recharges my batteries (pardon the pun). Why are some people so scared of just an hour without electronic devices?

mobile phone pic as we began ....

It is not just households that join in. Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State building, the Great Pyramids at Giza and even Las Vagas strip have taken part, all turning the power off for Earth Hour. This is more monumental than you think. People will see the lights go off, at these very prominent places, and maybe they will wonder if they can do it too! Pledges are made to turn off; if power companies are on the ball, they will not have to produce so much power and energy is conserved. 

If nothing else, Earth Hour serves to make us aware of how much power we overuse, or waste, every day. How can you make a difference? Turn power switches off at the wall when you are not using an appliance. We have remote control power boards; with one press all of the electrical equipment gets turned off at night. If you use an airconditioner; keep it no cooler/hotter than 23 degC. The larger the difference you try to cool or heat to, the more power is used. Use rechargable batteries, especially if they are solar rechargable. Sweep instead of vacuuming. Sun dry clothes instead of using a dryer. Read a book. A real one! 

So, as you can probably guess, I do not think it is a crock and it is definately not a waste of time. There are a lot of things you can do with the lights off.