Turning Off The Lights For Earth Hour
Last Saturday, I heard about Earth Hour while watching the news on television. Earth Hour is an annual event that started in Sydney, Australia to demonstrate electricity can be saved by turning off the lights for one hour. This year, the event expanded to several other cities around the world.
While we do not live in one of the major cities participating in the event, my wife and I decided it would be fun to spend an evening without electric lights. We lit some candles, built a fire, poured some Virginia wine, and played fiddle and guitar tunes. After the jam session, we listened to the Grand Ole Opry on my hand crank radio.
Whether or not Earth Hour significantly reduces energy usage, we enjoyed experiencing an evening that was somewhat similar to how people lived in earlier times. In fact, we kept the lights out well beyond the scheduled hour and may choose to spend other evenings with the lights turned out every once in awhile.