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What Did You Do for Earth Hour?

With my husband out of town, it was a pretty quiet night on the old homefront anyway. I had discussed the whole "Earth Hour" campaign with my son earlier in the day, letting him know that, in support of our Mother Earth, we would be "going dark" from 8:30pm-9:30pm. I also let him know that this wasn't just something happening in the United States. In fact, countries around the world would be turning off their lights to show support for energy conservation. But, instead of just the lights being turned off, we actually made sure that everything was turned off and all the appliances that were plugged in that didn't need to be plugged in got turned off. No TV, no radio, no charging of the various Ipods, cell phones, rechargable batteries, toothbrushes, etc. We lit a few candles to allow light into the house. Then, we simply climbed into my California King-sized bed, talked for a bit and read our own books. It was a fabulous way to spend that hour. I'm very happy we did. It may even become a regular weekly feature in my house. What did you do for Earth Hour last night?

Heather Chavez - Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn't Enough of You to Go Around!

Posted by Heather Chavez, Second Self Virtual Assistance (928) 412-4469 on 03/29/2009 12:10 AM

Comments (26)

Earth Hour 2009 in the ActiveRain Channel

earth hour, energy conservation, turn off lights, planet earth, mother earth

Originally posted at: Life as a Virtual Assistant - Lightening Your Load One Smile at a Time: What Did You Do for Earth Hour?

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26 Comments on What Did You Do for Earth Hour?

MAR

We turned most everything off except our laptops. I know but they were on battery.

Way to go, Sandy! I thought just turning the lights off wasn't going to be enough for me. I'm glad you thought the same thing. The more we can do, the better!

I turned off all of the lights and unplugged chargers and even my computer a little early and then went to dinner and a movie with a friend. When I returned much later, I was able to get the key in the lock with the porch light off. There was very little energy consumed in my house for several hours.

Hello Heather-I guess I was really in the dark because I didn't even know it was Earth hour. I hope you have been doing well. I scanned all the ones I've missed and I love all the flowers at the marketplace. Great blogging Enjoy your Sunday. :-)

Alright, Renee. Glad you participated.

Thanks, Sharon. Keep reading! I love my readers. Keeps me motivated.

Heather, my earth day was similar. I was amazed at how peaceful the hour was. It might be a weekly thing at my home too!

Hi Heater, I did the same as you with the exception of going to bed and reading, that sounds like a much better idea than what I did. I worked on my laptop by candle-light at my kitchen table and played with my lab retriever.

Turned off all the lights...and played a game by the light of a few candles!

I hears about this but didn't know when it was and then got caught up in my day. I came home at 8:30 and had to get the kids ready for bed so it didn't dawn on me that Earth Hour was today- bummer! I will have to do a "make up" Earth Hour with the family another night.

Quite frankly, I forgot about the whole thing. However, I recently invested in a hybrid HVAC system which is very energy efficient. It uses half the energy of my older system. I guess that counts doesn't it...

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Hi Heather, we also participated. My boys wouldn't want it any other way! It is their future.

The 3 year old went to bed. The wife and I, well lets just say it was an hour well spent.........

Todd - Great minds think alike, right? :)

John - I just decided no work was going to be done during that hour either. Playing with the dog would have been fine with us, but it's really dark in our backyard without any light and I don't have a firepit there. We made sure she got plenty of exercise before we went "lights out".

Travis - That's an idea I toyed with as well. My son and I both love board games. We'll have to do that next time.

Libby - Earth Hour is a great idea to start doing every week, if possible. Any night would be fine, I think.

Yes, Michael. A hybrid HVAC system is a great thing to have in place.

My son was very happy to do this as well, Lourdes, when he found out about it. He is also very much into recycling and has absolutely no problem lugging around our own grocery bags. It's great. They're even talking about alternative forms of energy in school. So, I get an earful every day on the way home from school.

Dan - While I am blushing a bit by your comment, I have to admit that that would have been my husband's idea as well if he were at home during Earth Hour. Not only are you saving electricity, you're making your own energy, right?

I love the idea of sitting quietly for an hour every week with my daughter. Turning off the TV, radio, etc and spending some quiet time is good for the environment and our relationship. Thanks for the post.

I agree, Rebecca. My son and I both love playing games. I am a self-proclaimed trivia whore (absolutely LOVE trivia). In fact, I have become such a wealth of useless knowledge, that nobody will play against me in trivia. They all want to be on my side. My son loves video games. As a compromise, we bought a Harry Potter board game to be able to play together. He has won some and I have won some. Any game we play has been very close. It's great.

Heather-earth hour was the best for me...I sat alone in a room...no phone..no computer...and no husband..it is very rare for us not to be using some sort of electronics. My husband sat in another room..I was able to allow my mind to shut down and think about other things...I told my husband we should go back to practicing this everyday...my mind gets a rest and we can reduce our electric bill at the same time! Glad you enjoyed yours as well!

I'm glad you participated, Midori. Many moons ago, I used to try to meditate for 1/2 a day. Then, it turned into 1/2 hour a week and then it just went away altogether. It sounds almost like you mediated for an hour. Shutting everything down and just relaxing your mind is a great way to spend Earth Hour.

MAR

Heather--Great post and I am sure that your son enjoyed it, too. Special time with mom. I cam home from a long day, read e-mail and saw a reminder to turn out lights. Like everyone else I thought it was a good idea to crawl in bed early. Unfortunately my husband was out with his hunting buddies so I was alone AND woke up feeling refreshed. Mary