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Thoughts

Earth Hour

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Taking a (not so) brief break from the writeup of my house hunting experiences, I thought I’d make a quick post about the upcoming Earth hour.

I know some folks who don’t subscribe to the theory of global warming, feeling instead it’s all sensationalist rantings by attention-seekers.  I don’t consider myself well enough informed on the subject to be able to argue the scientific details in favor of global warming, or whether the “facts” have been cooked up by fear mongerers.

I do however, feel that most of us are very wasteful in many ways.  Leaving water running, lights blazing, heater/air-conditioner pumping away – many of us simply don’t care enough to think of how much energy/water/fuel we waste.  (and I’m not even going to get into a discussion of the amount of garbage we produce on a daily basis..plastic bags, styrofoam containers, bottles, etc)  I used to be much the same way in that I simply didn’t think about waste, but lately have been trying to be more conscious of my energy consumption.

I now try not to leave the water running when I brush teeth, I try not to leave lights on in the room when I go out, and I have so far gone all winter with no heater, choosing instead to layer myself in clothing to conserve warmth.  For those who don’t really care about the environmental consequences, consider instead how much MONEY you can save by reducing your energy/water/fuel usage – it’s possible to save hundreds of dollars a year by using energy efficient appliances and/or cutting down on energy consumption.  Definitely something to consider if you pay your own utility bills (something I will be doing soon, so another reason I’m trying to get in the habit of being energy conscious)

Considering this, I do approve of what Earth Hour is attempting to do – trying to get 1 billion people worldwide to turn off their electricity for 1 hour.  It may not do much for your wallet, being just one hour, but anything that helps raise awareness for reducing waste and saving energy is ok in my book – and might be a first step for some in developing longer-term habits of being energy conscious.

Details of Earth Hour can be found HERE and it starts on Saturday, March 28th at 20:30 local time, anywhere in the world. So come Saturday go ahead, turn off your computer, light a few candles, and enjoy a cozy meal or play a board game with your family for an hour. 🙂