Are you switching off for WWF’s Earth Hour – 26 March 2011, 8.30pm?

[EarthHour]

Hey everyone

I thought I'd drop by as we're helping the WWF get the word out for Earth Hour 2011.

As you may already know, Earth Hour 2011 is coming up again this Saturday 26th March when people, businesses and iconic buildings around the world will switch off their lights for an hour at 8.30pm local time, sending a clear message to the world's governments that climate change needs to be addressed urgently.

We're trying to get as many people as possible around the UK to sign-up to the campaign: WWF's Earth Hour UK & Ireland: The county sign-up challenge

Hopefully we can top last year's awesome achievements, which saw hundreds of millions of people across a record 128 different countries and territories take part.

If you?re interested in helping, it would be really fantastic if you could take the time to register for your county and show your support for this year's Earth Hour event ? and even better if you could encourage colleagues, friends and family as well.

The more signups we get, the more we can show the world?s governments how seriously their people now consider global warming to be, and how loud their voice is on this urgent issue.

So on behalf of myself and the WWF it'd be fantastic if you could sign up for your county - and even become a fan onFacebook

You can find out more by watching our video:

Thanks for reading and feel free to get in touch if you?d like to know more.

We are doing it, in the middle of a sleep over party with 7 teenage girls I can't wait to see how they amuse themselves without youtube, fb, tv or lights when it is dark! I think we might do stories around the table, with a few candles lit.

Nope, but then I'm way ahead of you guys. I'm shomer shabbat which means every week I don't use electricity, transport (public or otherwise, apart from my feet), for 25 hours. boo yah

Glad to see you're making Earth Hour more than the hour AbsDu :)

And that should be interesting Goodynuff - have you told them the plan yet? :p

not yet I think they wont mind, and if they do, oh well!

Do we have to switch everything off? Even freezers?

I love Earth Hour, we do it every year!
I use candlelight as part of my spiritual practice and love to think of others doing the same at the same time (not every week, but I do think that sounds great Abs!)
To feel like a link in the chain of awareness across the world is humbling and highly enjoyable. Lovely food and drinks and a chance to talk, blissful.

You don't need to switch everything off just LIGHTS but we usually have no TV or computers either -a good excuse for a romantic candle-lit evening in fact!

at turning off the freezer

We don't want all your food to defrost Seabright ;)

Or then again you could do what Jeremy Clarkson does...

:o

Nope, they're the most hypocritcal charity ever.

I started donating money to them, I set up a direct debit a few months ago. Since then I receive on average a email, a letter or a telephone call eery month to ask me for more money and to increase my direct debit.

I once lost my rag and said to them that if they stopped wasting resources on sending people letters, wasting more trees and more paper to ask for more money they might save a bit more. Silence!

I was in New York with the dc for last year's Earth Hour and we went to Times Square hoping to see everything switched off.

But nope, didn't happen - The Coke Sign went black but was hardly noticeable with everything else flashing wildly around it.

Even the so-called eco-friendly hotel we'd booked into didn't bother to support it.

So I'm not bothering this year. We are a very eco-conscious family anyway and only use 100% renewable electricity.

Will switch off the lights as I settle down with a glass of wine and Mad Men DVD - but would have done that anyway.

Earthymama intrigued by what you mean by 'a chance to talk' - I would much prefer a chance to be silent .

You do realise you turning your lights out for an hour is like turning up at an earthquake disaster with a dust pan and brush

CLS - better than turning up with nothing at all. What a stupid comment

Well it is. You turning your lights off for an hour isnt going to do the world any good when you have massive cars producing so much toxic fumes, not to mention the amount of factories in foreign places like America, China, letting so much toxic smoke into the atmosphere.

Then like a previous poster said, Even New Yorks Times Square didnt turn off for the event.

More about awareness, getting people thinking & talking with their DC's about energy and the environment surely?
We do it every year. It's great. We tell stories and fumble about trying to get ready for bed

So lets not do anything, let us destroy the world and leave nothing for our children/grandchildren. No I agree, it is not a lot, but its better than an extra hours worth of emissions going into the air.

Maybe make it a monthly/weekly thing, everything has to start somewhere

But its not going to make a big difference, its not going to stop the ice caps from melting its not going to stop people high up like the PM/Obama etc etc using their expensive cars, their jets which are contributing MORE that your electricity in your home. etc etc

Wasnt it the other week that Nick Clegg about saving the earths energy and then got into his 5ltr Jaguar car

I agree like i said on my last post it isn't going to do loads, however, attitudes like yours certainly do not help, turning your lights off for one hour last night would have been a start
Would it have harmed you to turn your lights off for one hour last night? Just because its not going to make a big difference, the awareness of it brings more publicity with each passing year therefore maybe next year more people will do it and more companies will do it.

Well i didnt see this thread last night and all we had on anyway was the tv and a night light for DS' as they are scared of the dark.

We turned off the power for one hour last night (like last year),and although in the greater scheme of things ,it was a drop in the ocean,it was good to focus just how much we depend on wastingf power. Lights on all the time, computers and music players at full output, its good to take stock. We even talked about gcse options (leaving it to the last minute)!