Earth Hour

Eekamouse! I almost forgot to mention Earth Hour. First started by the World Wildlife Fund in Australia a few years ago, this event has obviously spread like mad. I've been reading about it all over the place online, in newspapers, and even got an email about it from a politician.

Basically, the idea is for people around the world, wherever they are, to turn off their lights and non-essential appliances this evening at 8 pm (whatever their respective time zone). Cities, organizations and individuals around the world have already committed to participating through the official Earth Hour website. Depending on what you're reading, reports cite reduction in energy consumption in participating cities during lights out as ranging anywhere from 2% to 10%. I think what's most important, though, is that this sort of thing provides people with a large-scale prompt to be mindful of consumption. It gets people thinking and talking about energy conservation, and then actually spending an hour not relying on electricity. Some critics are saying that it's just a token gesture. I say every single action helps. Hell, every month should have an Earth Hour.