Last year was the first year I remember hearing about this event. I remember I thought it was an important statement that would not only show the world that millions of people do care, but more importantly I knew that participating in this "Vote" would show each individual how much energy is wasted and how little they could really get by with. Last year, however, I actually FORGOT on the night of the global Earth Hour. The following day I was disappointed in myself for not caring enough about this event to remember to participate. And when the time came around this year I felt even more horrible for not realizing that this isn't something that could only be done ONCE A YEAR, but something that should be done on a regular basis. I learned tonight, from surviving ONE HOUR without lights, tv, radio, or any other form of power, that it's not all that difficult to conserve power. And I learned all of this while at work!
Tonight I was booked to babysit at a resort. I planned out the evening to ensure that I would get at least one solid hour to simply enjoy Earth. The family that I was working for had one small child and a couple of older children. The older children attended the event with their parents, but were to be dropped off after dinner, which I figured to be 8 or 830. The youngest was in bed by 6:30. So, at 7pm I turned off all lights and televisions in the villa. This was my first surprise. I hadn't really noticed, but there were lights on in EVERY room, even though the youngest had just gone to bed and I was lounging in the living room. After darkening the house I headed to the back patio with my book to read under the little daylight that was left. As the darkness of the night took over the sky, I closed my book and starred at the sky. My, oh my, what a beautiful sky Arizona has. I was up near Carefree where the sky was clear and full of stars. It was amazing. It had me wondering how much I really am going to miss Az when I move. I'm sure it will be a lot. The clear night sky full of stars was the first thing that attracted me here in '96.
After spending 45 minutes or so underneath the stars, I headed in the house. My hour was well up and I was getting cold, so I went in the house, turned on ONE lamp and continued reading. Within minutes the father returned to drop off a couple of kids. For the most part, the house was completely dark still. I turned on the Nick Awards Show for the older kids, and had my lamp on, but other than that...nothing! I'm not sure what the father thought, if anything, when he walked in but I did notice that all the lights that he turned on when entering a room, he turned off when he left. Here's my little thought on that...when all the lights are on in a house, you are less likely to notice how many unnecessary lights are actually on, BUT if you only have the lights on that you NEED then you are more likely to notice an awkward light on.
For the rest of the evening the only power used was one tv and one lamp. Pretty impressive for a 4 bedroom house with 4 occupants for most of the night.
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