On the eve of the Jewish sabbath families gather to share in a meal, light candles, turn hearts and minds to God. I wonder if we can consider Earth Hour as a form of sabbath, a holy pause to consider how we can respond to Creation with practical care and respect. Tonight between 8:30 and 9:30 we are invited to turn off lights and shut down devices to save electricity. Surely though the hour can be more. It can be family time and the opportunity to consider the ways we can reduce our environmental footprint.
Has the impact and value of Earth Hour come and gone? Will you be observing it tonight? What will you choose to do?
I hope there is good participation in earth hour tonight. I think we often wonder what good we can do individually, by seemingly minor things like turning our lights off, when we have enormous issues like the tar sands and increasing pollution in our lakes and oceans. However, I will do my part tonight.
ReplyDeleteWhat will I be doing during earth hour? I have a thought or two, but I won't be posting it here!!
We enjoyed some family time, with everything off except the Wii (I know, I know: hardly a purist's Earth Hour.)
ReplyDeleteThen again, those moments where you get to see me throwing down to "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" while playing "Just Dance" are SOOOO rare that ...
We were out until just after 8:30 and were struck as we drove up the street of the number of houses who were not observing Earth Hour. I really don't know if the message was getting out??? Maybe something as drastic as shutting down all of the streets lights might make people stop and wonder.....
ReplyDeleteUpon our return, we turned out the lights, sat by candle light and heard all about a cousins recent 4 month stay in Europe. Great family time.