Earth Hour - Pass it along

I am going to be a bit of a copy-cat and borrow a topic from Mom on the Run who just recently wrote a post about Earth Hour.

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tel Aviv will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.

I am not sure what the savings will be for turning off the lights and other energy sucking equipment for one hour. However, if it encourages more people to consider their energy consumption and find ways around their home and office to reduce their own emission footprint in the long term - it will be a success!

Here are a few ways we conserve energy at our house:

• Turn off appliances when not in use
• Use energy efficient bulbs
• Replace older energy sucking appliances (yes, that deep freeze in the basement counts!)
  
• Use Warm or Cold water for laundry
• Use reusable bags for grocery shopping
• Instead of bottled water use reusable bottles (most bottled water bottles never make it to the recycling bin and they cost the environment in transportation and manufacturing!)
• Turn off your car - don't idle!
• Programmable thermostat can save you money and save the environment
  
• Teach your kids the importance of conservation early on!

Thanks to Mom on the Run for pointing out this great campaign. Turn it off on March 29.