Earth Hour for Writers
On tomorrow night (Saturday, March 29th 2008) millions of homes and businesses around the world will fall into darkness. For sixty minutes between 8pm and 9pm in your time zone you can aid global awareness and reduce global warming by powering down. As a writer this is a fantastic opportunity but how can we, well wired careerists, maximize the potential of this time?
1. Torch Walking
I remember a few fascinating evenings after the sun had set when I was a child that we spent wandering around in the darkness. Each of us clutched a shimmering torch to scurry away the darkness as we trailed through the bushes. Blackouts were particularly attractive because we could explore the shadowed nooks and crannies of our homes or the streets in our neighbourhood.
During Earth Hour get out of doors with your torch and see the world with a new perspective. Use your senses to truly tune into your dark environment and feel the pulse of life that echoes loudly in the darkness. Explore with new eyes the way the stars gleam, the way torchlight reflects from house windows, and capture the distinctive ringing of dogs barking. Who else comes out into the darkness. Let your imagination travel into the evening air, stories abound.
2. Campfire Coffee Creativity
If you’re in an area with other writers consider getting together for a campfire coffee creativity hour. Be aware of any fire restrictions but there is bound to be a way to use natural light such as candles or campfires to create a gently lit clearing where you can sit and scrawl. Notebooks and pens or pencils can take you back to pretechnology and spark unique ideas and gathering around a flickering flames offers a relaxing environment where creativity will roam.
3. Ghost Stories
Along the same lines you can gather in the darkness, enjoy the stars outside or light a candle around your dining table and share ghost stories. The darkness and quiet when the TV and computers are silent and the lights are out create the perfect atmosphere to run with the spirits of the otherside. If you’ve enough candlelight you could even have someone write these stories down.
Do you have other ideas? How will you spend Earth Hour?
Stephie Mummaa says:
“Notebooks and pens or pencils ”
Pencils? Ahhh I remember those.
durano lawayan says:
Hi Rebecca,
The Earth Hour was only a short period, not enough to tell scary ghost stories. It was dark and humid too, and we passed the time drinking cool cocktails. The nice thing about it was that neighbors came out of their homes and got to talking that extended for three hours after the lights went on. A friendlier atmosphere was created where usually people only give a forced smile or an obligatory greeting. At least now we have something more concrete to talk about.
Each took a turn to run inside their homes to get somh the snacks to go with the drink. This Earth Hour thing is not good for the weight watchers after all! LOL!
–Durano, done!
Rudy says:
I did 3 loads of clothes on the washer & dryer. I missed the memo on earth hour.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith says:
Durano, one hour isn’t too short of ghost stories. Besides, just because it’s called Earth Hour doesn’t mean you can’t make a whole night of it. Or even do the same on other days and nights. I shut down my whole house for 24 hours. The only thing that had power was my fridge and freezer. If we did this sort of thing regularly imagine how much you’d save on your electricity bill.
It’s great to hear your neighbourhood got into the spirit and reconnected. It is amazing the distance technology seems to give us. We think that all these amenities are creating a connection but the greater connection is to walk out the door and experience the world.
Aww, Rudy! Save the planet man!
Even if you missed Earth Hour you can do your part by remembering to conserve power where possible. Turn power of at the wall when you don’t need to use appliances. Keep lights off unless needed. Reuse grey water and conserve water use. Even something as simple as putting a bucket in your shower and using the water that fills it to water plants can have a significant impact. The great thing about all this is that it’s also saving you money on electricity and water expenses. 
It’s never too late to do your part.
Rudy says:
Hi Rebecca,
Oh I’ve done my part. I have CFL lightbulbs everywhere in my house. I water my yards twice a day for a short period of time. I don’t have any potted plants. I use efficient shower heads. I have HE clothes washer/dryer. I don’t use the dish washer. I drive a Civic Hybrid. I don’t use the air conditioning (much).
Now if only photovoltaic cells are cheap….
Global Warming » Earth Hour for Writers says:
[…] Diego wrote an interesting post today on Earth Hour for WritersHere’s a quick excerpt8pm and 9pm in your time zone you can aid global awareness and reduce global warming by powering down. … A Gratitude Meme - November 2007 […]
Rebecca Laffar-Smith says:
I love the idea of energy saving lightbulbs but I stay away from the CFL’s because they’re flourescent globes tend to emit harmful rays (like sunlight). My brother had a condition that made him sensitive to these kinds of rays so I know how dangerous they can be. UV rays from the sun can cause skin cancers and these new CFL lights make me wonder how safe they may be in that regard.
Watering twice a day? Is that necessary? Here in Australia we have watering restrictions. Every home is restricted to TWO watering days PER WEEK. That is with reticulation anyway. My lawn tends to grow very well with that. In fact, I haven’t watered it in weeks now we get some autumn rains and it is eagerly awaiting the lawn mower two weeks before he’s due.
Potted plants are much more water conservant than garden beds. The water is stored and used more directly rather than sinking through to the water table or draining out to a water system.
The shower heads are a fantastic idea. I’ve been thinking of changing mine recently. I have a broad head so I have to turn the water on quite hard to get a decent spray (vs. a trickle) I’d rather have a smaller shower head with a stronger spray.
I think it is wonderful to see so many great energy and earth saving innitiatives in action. It makes me realize we all have our small part to play in the world’s health.