Portland, OR

Tomorrow March 29th marks the second annual “Earth Hour“, an event that started in Sydney, Australia last year, and is spreading all over the world for its second run.

Earth Hour is a sixty minute period (obviously) in which we, as consumers of energy, can curb some of our electricity use, at least when it comes to lighting and electronics. At 8 pm, turn off all of your lights and electronic equipment, i.e. computers, tvs, dvd players, etc. Keep everything off for one hour. Sure, it won’t make that much of a difference in the whole scheme of things, but it is more about making a statement. If we can go an hour without electrical entertainment, why not go without it even more often? Maybe make Earth Hour a weekly event at your house. Go for a walk, plan a candlelit dinner for someone special, or simply sit there in the dark, or twilight depending on the season, and enjoy the night sky.

Also, Earth Hour is meant to show us all that by cutting lighting, we can cut a significant part of our electricity consumption. The California Energy Commission (sorry to use CA, but it’s the first place I found actual numbers) estimates that lighting and small appliances/electronics makes up 25% of our electricity usage. So maybe even if you don’t turn off the lights, you can still do the responsible thing and switch to more efficient lighting choices.

By the way, have I mentioned that Portland is awesome because you can still see the night sky. A city of a million plus, and I can still see the stars. And I don’t live out in the ‘burbs, either. Trust me, you don’t realize how much you can miss seeing the stars at night until you live in a big city with a lot of light pollution. Or even a small town with lots of light pollution. Click on the small map of the Earth at Night below this paragraph for a reality check.

Portland, Oregon is not officially involved in Earth Hour, and yet, Portland, Maine is. Odd. However, we don’t need no stinking “official city” badges on this one, as you can participate on your own. Though I do think it would be super awesome cool if the entire city shut off the lights at 8 pm.

You can check out the Earth Hour website here if you feel so inclined. There are links and more info on what you can do to save the Earth, or at least think you are saving it. The World Wildlife Fund is the uber-sponsor for the event, and it is a great organization that I have been supporting since high school (yeah, I was one of those kids).

Here’s a little video on how it all began.

Earth Hour, Portland, Oregon, Maine, Sydney, Australia, consumers, electricity, electronics, World Wildlife Fund, activism, event