Climate change, with its devastating droughts and floods, in our faces every day on a global level.

Fortunately each of us can make a difference, as Sandy McBride, an educator in sustainability, reminded me when she sent me the following:

“Earth Hour 2008 is being held on Saturday March 29th from 8pm to 9pm. How did Earth Hour start?

It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?
The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global event.

The website asks for a commitment registration and it is interesting to see how many individuals, schools and businesses are registered and how this number is increasing.

The website is http://www.earthhour.org/ Enjoy your candlelit evening or games in the dark.”

Bless you, Sandy, for being such an inspiration. I would, however, take a moment to remind everyone what happened nine months after the New York blackout several years ago. Hmmn.

Sustainably
Barbara