An event which started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 has turned into a worldwide phenomenon!
Yesterday, March 27th, at 8:30 PM local time, the fourth EARTH HOUR occurred all around the globe. An estimated one billion people participated in Earth Hour this year–new countries joined, and in some places, the event included a period of silence and even parades. In just three years’ time, individuals, businesses, municipalities, and historic landmarks worldwide have joined together to call for action. Climate change must be addressed. By doing something as simple as turning off our lights worldwide for one hour, “we show that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact . . . in protecting our future and that of future generations,” as stated on the Earth Hour website. Go to this Earth Hour link to view photos of the lights going out around the world–it’s incredible!
This event got me thinking: what if, in addition to this annual event, we all turned off our lights for extended periods of time every night or even once a week or once a month? Not only are we conserving energy by doing so, but we have wonderful opportunities to connect with our families and nature each time we do it. Eating by candlelight is intimate and calming. Taking the opportunity to look outside and see the bright stars shining is inspiring. Once the brightness of building lights is dimmed, the stars can actually reach out to us!
Keeping our lights off for at least an hour is so simple AND it benefits us greatly! Lighting is responsible for about 11 percent of a home’s energy bills, and those continue to march up across most of the United States, at a time when home prices have been falling and job growth is soft. A compact fluorescent bulb uses about 75 percent less electricity than an incandescent, but the most energy-saving bulb of all is one that’s turned off! If we are using incandescent lights in our houses, only about 10%–15% of the electricity that incandescent lights consume results in light—the rest is turned into heat. If we use fluorescent lights, turning them off for a longer period of time is the only effective way to save energy. As a rule of thumb, to save energy and cost, fluorescent lights need to be off for more than 15 minutes at a time. So, turning off any type of light bulb for extended periods of time makes sense and save cents!
Think about the impact we each can make. If every one of us takes the example of Sydney, Australia to see that one city’s action has impacted the world, what can our one action in our own home do for ourselves, our neighborhoods and our cities?
Food for thought on a Soulful Sunday…
