Lights out preparation
Monday, March 24th, 2008Science can’t seem to get its ducks in a row about climate change, although we all can agree that wetlands have been disappearing and that’s not good for those ducks.
This coming Saturday night, you’re encouraged to take part in Earth Hour. It means turning out your lights between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Several major centres, lots of companies and countless individuals are going to take part. Rogers Centre and the ACC have big events going on so they’ll both turn off their outside lights for Earth Hour.
Plenty of people are skeptical about global warming. Some agree it’s happening, but they attribute it to normal patterns that have gone on for all time. Others think we’re killing the planet. Whatever you believe, it’s not such a bad idea to save a little electricity for an hour, even if only for a break on your bill.
My little sister was staying overnight with me for the first time, during the blackout of 2003. When the lights went out, we had just finished a late lunch/early dinner. We played Scrabble by candlelight and took flashlights to our respective rooms when we retired for the night. It was eerie, but also kind of fun. So I can imagine that a planned hour of in-home darkness could be a good opportunity to teach your kids about conservation, no matter where you stand on the climate change issue.
