Lights Out

The global initiative sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour, encourages everyone to turn off their lights on Saturday, March 27 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Light some candles and tune into your family while contemplating what little steps can be taken to reduce your household energy consumption.

Simple habits to adopt which reduce climate change can include turning off the lights in rooms when not in use, turning off water while brushing teeth, replacing energy hogging old appliances, turning down the thermostat, eliminating energy vampires by plugging appliances and electronics into power strips, switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), recycling, composting, and carpooling. Buying locally grown and produced foods can also help reduce the amount of fuel needed to ship food from faraway growing areas such as South America. Every little effort counts.

While turning off your home's lights for a mere hour may seem minor, consider last year's event which involved hundreds of millions of participants worldwide. Four-thousand cities in 87 countries turned off their lights in 2009 and saved millions of dollars in energy bills while raising awareness. Vote with your light switch, join this year's Earth Hour. For more information visit www.myearthhour.org.