Earth Hour Rocks!

Fortunately, Google (my second brain) reminded me that Earth Hour was from 8-9 last Saturday. Otherwise, I would have missed out on my new favorite climate action - turning the lights out. Yeah, I know I'm exposing my privileged first world life when I say that I really enjoyed an evening by candle light, but there's no sense pretending... It's a luxury to be able to turn the lights on. It's also a luxury to be able to turn them out.

Our Earth Hour was even better for spending the evening at my friend Rachel's house. Rachel used to work as a chef and whipped up a five-star meal complete with a chocolate dessert to die for, ever so much better eaten by candle light. We sat around talking, laughing, sharing stories. Good old-fashioned entertainment. Mike and I liked it so much we did it again Monday night. It's a good way to reconnect - to take away the distractions and foster conversation. We hope to celebrate Earth Hour on a regular basis.

To use the climate policy jargon, Earth Hour has great co-benefits. It's great for building social capital - getting us to turn off the TV and talk to each other. It's a great way to reduce stress - nothing seems quite as urgent by candle light. It's a nice way to take a moment to reconnect - with ourselves and with each other.

Even if you missed the global event last Saturday, I suggest giving Earth Hour a try...