Earth Hour 2010

We are all being asked to turn off any non-essential lights, appliances and electronics tonight between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.

I'm not sure what I'll do tonight while I'm sitting in the dark but I am trying to plan ahead slightly this time around, as compared to last year, http://cynfulcreationscanada.blogspot.com/2009/03/beading-in-dark.html, when I seemed to have waited until almost the last minute to figure out what to do during that hour. It's mid afternoon and I've gathered the flashlight and candles, so I already feel ahead of schedule.

I found this article, which describes the origin of the Earth Hour event. It started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and went global in 2008 when approximately 50 million people took part in several different countries. Last year, the first year I participated, hundreds of millions of people around the world were involved, which is pretty impressive.

The same article outlines 10 things you might want to do during the hour: http://lifestyle.sympatico.ca/Home/ContentPosting?newsitemid=ad4a5478-996e-4959-b1a8-81ef44208d8d&feedname=50_PLUS&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=False, although it also made me laugh, because it was described as "11 fun and sexy things to do when the lights go out." I must have had it in my mind that the 11 things would all be fun AND sexy, as I found it a bit surprising to read they suggested hosting a games night or go out to a restaurant serving locally grown food. Then I realized they meant that some of the 11 items could fit under the categorization of "sexy" (i.e. having a candlelit picnic, or enjoying a romantic evening "getting close") and some were fun, things you can do with the whole family (games night, camping out in the living room, going to an outdoor event).

My favourite is something they will apparently be doing at the Ontario Science Centre - you're allowed to use a radio, a lamp or a TV but only if you generate the power by dancing. Now that sounds like fun!!