The Earth hour this year will be this Saturday, March 23 at 8:30 pm. I always try to participate in this activity every year because it is an opportunity to do something worthy very easily. One hour in the dark is nothing if one thinks of all the energy that will be saved and the environmental awareness it will create.
For this year, I want to strongly involve my young daughter in this activity. This year’s theme is going beyond the earth hour. It means supporting their campaign doesn’t stop after the hour of turning lights off. It is now a challenge to adopt a lifestyle that will be friendly to the mother earth.
I am responding to this challenge in my own little way by striving to do the following:
Recycling papers. Segregate our wastes.
Try to lower our electricity bills.
Try to use cloth diapers for my second baby. Try indoor gardening
Come to think of it, all the earth –friendly ways I listed would actually be more beneficial for me.
I have been aware of the Earth hour for several years now but my family never gets to participate in this event that aims to save energy because of various reasons. Sometimes we are not at home that time, we need to turn on the lights for an important errand that needs to be finished, or we simply forgot about it. But this year, my family participates in the Earth hour event for the first time.
My husband and I went to the church to attend the anticipated mass (6 -7 pm). Then when we got home, we immediately had dinner. Afterwards, I took care of other things so that we can turn off the light at 8:30pm without thinking of anything that still needs to be done. My mom and sister on the other hand made sure that Sophie is already sleeping. At exactly 8:30pm we turned off all the lights in the house and we only use the beam of a small rechargeable battery (hope that’s alright) as we chatted and rest.
Most of our neighbors did not participate in this Earth hour, maybe because they are not aware of it or what it’s for. Even though there are more TV ads about Earth hour this year than the previous years, I think more campaigning is needed so more people can participate. Anyway, I am happy that even in a small way, in an hour that we barely even notice pass by, my family was able to do our share in making this world a better place.
