Earth Hour: How Did You Celebrate?

“For the first time in history, humans, not nature, are the main cause of Earth’s changing climate – or, as it is commonly known, global warming.”

- Glenn Murphy, A Kid’s Guide to Global Warming

Earth Hour hit Saturday night just as we were getting our six-year-old into bed, so she thought it would be a good idea if her bedtime “story” was A Kid’s Guide to Global Warming by Glenn Murphy. We clicked off the light right at 8:30, flicked on my backpacking headlamp (is that cheating?), and snuggled into bed.

When I emerged from my daughter’s room half an hour later we’d read all about fossil fuels, greenhouse gases and the carbon cycle, how carbon is released into the atmosphere, and how earth’s rapidly growing human population and increasing urbanization are creating more and more CO2 emissions. A perfect read for explaining what the whole Earth Hour idea was about. And that was just the first chapter.

It seems a lot of environmentalists were turning up their noses at Earth Hour, poopooing the idea that an hour of lights-out time was going to make any difference for the planet. Well, obviously, if your goal is to instantly and dramatically reduce electricity consumption in one day, an Earth Hour won’t do it. And if you think you can turn off your lights for an hour and you’ve done your part to save the earth, you’re sorely mistaken.

But that’s not the idea. The goal of Earth Hour is to raise global awareness of the dangers of human energy consumption, and at that, it succeeded magnificently. In just its third year, Earth Hour, under the leadership of the World Wildlife Fund, has gained momentum and become a truly global event.

Starting in New Zealand, homes, businesses and landmarks all around the world clicked off their lights. The Empire State Building and the Las Vegas Strip went dark. It was big. It was fun. And yes, it was relatively easy. But I don’t think anybody in the eco movement should turn up their noses at an event which is positive, asks everyone to join in, and is achievable.

In fact, we need more events like this that champion conservation, encourage wide participation and generate both a buzz and good feelings about protecting our planet. Oh, and provide a teaching moment for the uninformed (or reluctant) folks who haven’t quite bought into the fact that we’re inflicting serious harm on our global home. As environmentalists we can no longer afford to be exclusive about who is green and who is not. We need everybody on our team, and Earth Hour is a great place to start.

What did you do for Earth Hour? Write in the comments below to tell us how you celebrated Earth Hour, or if you chose not to, why not. We want to hear.

P.S. If you are looking for a book that does a great job explaining global warming to kids in rich detail but in terms they can easily understand, Glenn Murphy’s A Kid’s Guide to Global Warming is a great choice. Hallie has read it many times, but she never tires of it and always seems to pick up some new fact she hadn’t noticed before. We both recommend it. Other good titles include:

• A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids: Understanding Climate Change and What You Can Do About It by Julie Hall
• This Is My Planet: The Kids’ Guide to Global Warming by Jan Thornhill
• A Kids’ Guide to Climate Change & Global Warming: How to Take Action! by Cathryn Berger Kaye

You can click on the links to buy at Amazon.com (and help support SustainAbler.com!). Thanks.