For those of you that went through your lives last Saturday without even realizing there was a world wide movement happening, let me fill you in a little bit. Earth Hour is an event designed to inspire people to take action on climate change. It all started in Sydney, Australia last March, and on last Saturday, cities of all sizes around the world participated by turning off non-essential lights for an hour. My family participated in our own small way by turning off all of the lights inside and outside of the house. It doesn’t seem like all that much, but we all felt like we were part of something bigger.
That leads me to my daughter, a newly christened environmentalist. She has always cared deeply about other people, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that she found Earth Hour very appealing. That night while we were all sitting around in the dark, my daughter asked if Earth Hour can help make the planet a better place, why not do Earth Hour every night instead of one night a year. That sounded like a good plan to me so we agreed that the Probst house would go dark for an hour each night so we can do our little part to save the world.
Now, I can’t say we’ve lived up to our promise every night, but we’re trying. With work, school, sports, Girl Scouts, etc., life can be a bit hectic to commit to such a bold schedule right away. I think if we can pull off a weekly Earth Hour to start, we’ll eventually be able to work our way up to a nightly hour in the dark.
If you’re interested in helping save the world (and a little money), try turning off all non-essential lights around your house for an hour this weekend. It’ll make you feel like you made a difference, and it’s a great time to bond with your family. Who knows, you may have a little environmentalist in your family too.
