Are you ready?

It's creeping up on us again. That lovely evening known as Earth Hour. You might remember my exciting blunders with Earth Hour Power Shower last year (read about it here). Earth Hour 2010 will take place on Saturday, March 27 (that's THIS saturday!) at 8:30pm. For one hour, only ONE hour (come on, how can you say no to something so simple?), please turn off your lights and all electronic devices. Yes, that means no internet, no cell phones, nothing. Gasp! It has been reported that almost 1 billion people around the world participated last year. Pretty cool! Even large iconic buildings/monuments are taking part. Last year the Empire State Building, Las Vegas Strip, Big Ben in London and many more turned off their lights for Earth Hour. I imagine it would be amazing to see some of those monuments without lights...what a rare spectacle. You can learn more about the history and importance of Earth Hour here.

So this year I plan to do it up right. Key word here..."plan." We'll see what actually happens. Whether it goes well or not, I've been practicing lately. I spend a few hours each week with the lights off, candles burning, and music playing while I relax with a glass of wine. Technically, the music playing is still electricity, so I'll have to nix that for Earth Hour. Someday I dream I'll be able to sit in candlelight and play my own music on my guitar, but as it stands now, my random guitar plinking sessions are far from soothing.

Earth Hour is a simple call to action on climate change. It's an interesting movement. So please, join me and millions of others as we turn off our lights and electronics for one short hour. I think you will find it to be a very pleasant way to pass an hour. The world turns a little slower without all of our technological distractions. Grab a glass of wine, take a deep breath, and reflect on the state of our environment.