Earth Hour 2009

Well yet again we were the only ones on our block that participated in Earth Hour. Ok I take that back the house next to us is dark... but that's because it's for sale and has been dark since December. We started late this year too, at 8:55 Jacob and I went downstairs to the breaker room and flipped the main to the house. *Boom* quiet. I find it amazing just how much noise is in the house that we ignore. Like the fridge, freezer, furnace, water heater etc... all make a quiet humming noise, but when that is shut down everything becomes quiet. We shut down it all, everything, not just all the lights but everything. When we get done with Earth Hour we have to reprogram our clocks. We couldn't turn on a light in the house, even though walking into a room and attempting it gets pretty funny it is amazing how habitual we are.

I follow a blog that brought to my attention some of the hypocrisies of Earth Hour participants. I will admit our first year of doing Earth Hour I am guilty of this. Lighting candles. But what kind of candles. Most candles are made with paraffin a petroleum product. See previous post about the yucky side of candles. So we changed our tactic and spent the money on beeswax candles. This year we were 99.99% petroleum free, (we used a lighter to light the candles.)

We ended up doing the dishes, brushing our teeth, getting generally ready for bed, stretching, gabbing, finally we went downstairs and turned back on the main breaker to the house.

Our experience was a good one, mostly a quiet vote for the Earth. But a blog I have recently begun to follow called Eco Yogini had a much different view of Earth Hour. She went down to the "show" that was being put on, like a big new years eve party countdown and all. Saddened by the lack of "eco" thought that went into the party, she went home. I know her post is long, but it is very worth it, she makes some wonderful observances.