Author: Chanie Kirschner, Mother Nature Network

 

A: You’ve come to the right place, my friend. For
those of you who don’t know, the World Wildlife Fund started Earth
Hour three years ago, asking people to turn off their lights for one
hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate
change. It has since become a global phenomenon, with more and more
people turning out their lights each year.

 

In 2009, nearly 1 billion people in 4,100 cities in 87 countries on
seven continents turned out their lights for Earth Hour. The only
question many people have is exactly yours. What am I supposed to do in
the dark for a whole hour?

 

Well, I’ve got some great ideas for ways you
can spend Earth Hour. And you know what? These activities are so fun,
you won’t even remember to turn on the lights come 9:30.

 

Eat a candlelit dinner
Prepare the whole meal in advance
and make sure the table’s set, so you don’t stab anyone with the dinner
knives while trying to set the table in the dark. Then, once you switch
off the lights, settle down at the table and enjoy a candlelit dinner.
Whether it’s with your honey, your family, or just a friend or two,
you’ll be sure to enjoy.

 

If you’ve got kids, play games or tell them stories
How
often is Saturday night just movie night? This Saturday night, get the
kids together for some ghost stories by candlelight or a game of
Monopoly. If you’re really ambitious, you can even try building a fort
with them in your living room.

 

Look at old picture albums
In this day and age,
everything’s electronic — on a hard drive, a memory card, a USB stick,
in an online album somewhere on the Internet. You get my point.

 

For
Earth Hour, why not pull out the dusty albums from years past
(everybody’s got one somewhere) and leaf through some old pictures of
yourself or your family by candlelight. You can even make it into a game
(“Who can find the only picture ever taken of Grandma in a
two-piece?”). It’s sure to make for some good times, good memories and
some great stories.

 

Get some friends together for a game night
What says I care
about the Earth more than Taboo by candlelight? And the best part of it
is, it’ll be dark enough that nobody will see you cheating.

 

Go outside for some stargazing
When was the last time you
looked up at the sky and actually saw more than a few stars? That’s
because with all the light pollution out there these days, it’s hard to
see much of anything in the sky besides the moon — or the lights of a
passing plane if you’re lucky.

 

Take advantage of the Earth Hour
opportunity, and head outside for some good old-fashioned stargazing.
Unless of course, you’re fortunate enough to live in Salt Lick, KY —
then you might see stars any ol’ night of the year.

 

Don’t forget to check out this video promo
for Earth Hour 2010, featuring landmarks across the world that went
dark for 2009’s Earth Hour, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the
Empire State Building in New York City —
definitely inspiring to watch.

 

And remember, no matter how you decide to
spend Earth Hour, know that you’re one of billions of people joining
together to take a stand on the future of our planet, and that, my
friends, is more than enough.

 

—Chanie

 

Chanie Kirschner writes a weekly advice column for the Mother Nature Network, where this post originally appeared.

 

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