What & when is Earth Hour?

Today (Saturday), March 31^st 2012, our tired old planet is unplugging at 8:30 p.m., your local hour. In other words: wherever you are, join the movement and turn off the lights.

With almost 150 countries and over 5400 cities switching off all non-essential lighting, Earth Hour is the largest environmental mass-participation event in history. Major landmarks, buildings and individuals will catch the 60-minute darkness wave, spreading all over the world like a good pandemic.

Will you go dark with me?

An initiative led by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour started in Sidney in 2007 and, over the past four years, it’s become a global phenomenon, meant to raise awareness for the environment and climate change as well as to support sustainable action. For detailed information, check out the Earth Hour FAQs.

More Earth Hour context & video history.

Top seven simple pleasures to enjoy by candlelight.

1. Have a conversation – a glass of wine or cup of tea will add some flavor. Tell stories, jokes, remember. Enjoy the good old pleasure of talking and the bigger, ancient privilege of listening. Has it been a while since you’ve looked someone in the eyes?

2. Eat dinner. (Cook it first, don’t microwave). With a lover, a friend, your dog also counts. But most importantly, don’t forget yourself. When is the last time you ate without watching or reading a screen; or without listening to anything other than heartbeats in original version?

3. Sing a song (or play a non-electrical instrument). Before wires and music boxes, there was a beautiful mind that, after silencing all distractions and staying present, it turns into a living sponge. You’ll remember every note.

4. Play board games. You know, those fun things people used to do in living rooms after dinner, before switching from Real Life to Pixel Screen.

5. Take a bath. Stay transparent, fluid and open, like water.

6. Go for a night walk or bike ride. If not raining, maybe you’ll be able to see the stars for the first time in ages.

7. Love someone with your lips and body. (Preferably your heart is in the room, as well).

Why celebrate Earth Hour?

Because “She’s Alive… Beautiful… Finite… Hurting… Worth Dying for.”

And so are we. 

What are you doing at 8:30 p.m.? Got candles?

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