387 - Earth Hour ...

I found this nugget in some news I was reading tonight and thought that I have to post this right away because it is that important. I signed up immediately at http:\\www.earthhour.org and will observe earth hour at the end of March.

Tell your friends about earth hour and have them tell their friends. Get your company to sign up ... whole cities around the globe are signing up ... it is worth making the statement.

Earth Hour 2007 was a Sydney event. Earth Hour 2008 is a global movement.

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tel Aviv will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.



You don’t have to live in total darkness every day to make a difference. Just follow these five quick and easy tips.

- Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and reduce emissions. Lighting accounts for around 5% of household greenhouse gas emissions, and compact fluros use 75% less energy than an equivalent incandescent bulb. Although the bulbs cost more up-front, you will actually save money through the energy saved and extended life of the bulb.

- Turn appliances off while not in use. Unplug any appliances like mobile phone chargers, TVs, microwaves, MP3 players, which are not being used and are on standby. In Australia, appliances on standby consume up to 10% of your electricity bill.

- Turn off anything that doesn’t need to be on. A good rule is to turn off anything not being used. When you leave a room or leave the house, turn off your lights or appliances like the TV or computer.

- Switch to green power. This is one of the best ways you can make a difference. Contact your electricity provider today and switch to green power, a cleaner, more renewable form of energy that does not contribute to global warming. If all Australians switched to green power today, Australia’s total greenhouse pollution would be cut by 30% in one year. That’s the equivalent of more than 40 million cars!

- Use less hot water. This is not only a good water saving tip, it saves electricity too. Spend one minute less in the shower.

Make Earth Hour Happen In Your Town
On 31 March 2007, more than 2 million Sydney businesses and households
turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour - sending a powerful national
and global message that it’s possible to take action on global warming.
At 8pm on 29 March 2008, Earth Hour goes global, with cities and towns
around the world taking stand on the greatest threat our planet has ever
faced, and millions of people uniting to turn the tide on global warming.
If you want to turn out the lights for Earth Hour in your town or city on 29
March 2008, this will help you get started!

Your Goal
Get the most people, businesses and government involved in Earth Hour and
get them to turn off their lights for one hour at 8pm on March 29 2008.

Making Earth Hour happen

1) Building your Team
A good team is one of the biggest success factors for making Earth Hour
happen around the world. Put together a small team of committed people and
organisations to help plan how you can turn out the lights for one hour in your
area.
Members of your Earth Hour Team could include your friends or schoolmates,
members of your family or your neighbourhood, the local mayor or business
leader, or your local school principal.
Pull together a team of people and organisations willing to put the time and
effort into making Earth Hour happen and you’ll be ready to get started.

2) Spread the Word about Earth Hour
To inspire yourself and those you speak to about Earth Hour, check out
www.earthhour.org to watch the video of the first Earth Hour in Sydney in
2007. This video will go a long way to inspiring you and those you speak to, to
get involved in Earth Hour and to help take a stand against global warming.

Think about how you could spread the word about Earth Hour in your area,
how can you encourage the most people and businesses to turn their lights of
for one hour at 8pm on Saturday 29 March 2008?

Thinking small can be big thinking
We’ve created a website to help you spread the word about Earth Hour.
Register at www.earthhour.org and recruit your friends to the Earth Hour
cause. Getting your friends and neighbourhood involved is the easiest way to
be a part of Earth Hour and help make a difference to our planet.

Think big
Who in your town uses lots of power?

First stop, the city. The city is one of the largest users of power in your area.
Write to your mayor or present the Earth Hour idea at your local council. If you
can get the city involved in turning off their non-essential lighting for Earth
Hour (in Sydney, we left our street lights on for safety), your town can make a
huge difference.
Office buildings and big retail stores also use a lot of power. Write to the
businesses and stores in your area and ask them to darken their buildings,
neon signs, stores and restaurants for one hour for Earth Hour.
Ask your favourite restaurant to have a candle-lit dinner hour (using beeswax
candles of course) and feature fresh “cold” dishes in the menu.
Write to your local newspaper or television channel and tell them what you’re
doing - try and get some news coverage of what your town wants to do for
Earth Hour and the planet…think big!

3) Be creative!
As well as asking as many people and businesses as possible to turn off their
lights in your city or town at 8pm on 29 March 2008, think creatively about
how to bring your friends and family together for the night.
Organise a “block party” in your neighbourhood with “in the dark” games and
activities, organise a movie or music night at someone’s house, look up at the
stars, use the hour to talk about what you can do every day to save energy.
Think about the different ways to have fun with Earth Hour.

4) What to do everyday
Turning off your lights for one hour at 8pm on 29 March 2008 is the first part
of getting involved in Earth Hour. Making a difference to the future of our
planet by making energy savings every day is the second part.
When spreading the Earth Hour message, don’t forget to encourage your
friends, family and workmates to turn off unused lights and appliances every
day of the year.

5) Make It Happen
Every town and city is unique and can bring its own special touch, identity and
passion of its communities to create its own Earth Hour on 29 March 2008.
But making Earth Hour happen is up to you!
Whatever you can organise to help turn out the lights on 29 March - whether
is a backyard barbeque or asking your local mayor to turn off the city’s nonessential lighting - will be a success.
You can make Earth Hour happen if you work together.

6) Other questions you might have
If you’re thinking about Earth Hour in your town or city at 8pm on 29 March,
you’ll probably have some other questions about how we did it in Sydney in
2007. Check out our website for some answers.

http://www.earthhour.org