Seen various places, but most recently at The Lead:
Many people around the world are planning on observing an hour of “darkness” tomorrow night as a way of participating in a global earth hour. The event was created by the World Wildlife Fund in 2007.From the Earth Hour Website:
“Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time)–whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.”
I will try to remember to shut off all the lights tomorrow at 8pm CDT. On our last couple of trips to Mesa Verde, we’ve noted how light pollution encroaches on the remote places in America, and how the stars are dimmed. It’s quite a hot topic in Moab, UT, where the locals can get really het up about not being able to see the bright stars they remember from just a decade or so ago. Or sometimes about their neighbors’ new yard light.
There are alternatives to lighting up the night needlessly – it’s still possible to have attractive outdoor lighting, or safe street lighting, without making starry, starry nights obsolete.
UPDATE: Every light in the house is on.
I’ve got an alarm set to go off at 8pm CDT, and a few candles are burning. I wish I had a clear view of downtown Chicago, which is supposed to be participating.
I had a chance to go out to dinner tonight, but wasn’t feeling up to a lot of night driving after spending 3 hours getting my vision rechecked and my new glasses re-lensed (as I thought, they had the “sweet spot” in the wrong place for the right eye). So it works out okay after all is said and done; I’d rather be home tonight.
Also, my tummy is kind of bothering me, so it’s just as well.
