Sunday, March 30, 2008

When the Lights Go Out



Although Earth Hour Chicago only managed to produce a 5% reduction in energy usage, hopefully the longterm impact will be greater. As I looked out our windows last night, I saw that about a quarter of our neighbors had clearly heard about Earth Hour and were active participants in turning off all their lights for an hour last night. We turned out ours and are going out today to purchase the new CFL lights to replace most of our old lights. For us, this is step two in a plan to lead a more energy conscious and efficient life.

I read article after article about how we are ravaging our planet and how our planet is no longer able to withstand our constant onslaught of abuse. As I've grown older, I am no longer paralyzed with the feeling of helplessness when confronted with issues like this. I know that if we each do our part, we can create change. While I realize that not everyone will support this kind of effort, it is no reason to give up hope. It's my job to do my part and that's what I'm trying to do as best I can. Once again, education and personal action can make a world of difference.



BLACK KEYS-When the Lights Go Out

7 comments:

Gifted Typist said...

WE ate in the dark last night too and I blogged on this this morning.

Glad to see it made a difference. Now, if we could do that more often... just think.

Johnny Yen said...

Good for you, for not succombing to frustration. I am so tired of people claiming disengagement from politics and change because of the futility of it all. If they give up so easily, that's where the futility starts.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step"-- Mao Tse-tung

lulu said...

What if the power goes out once or twice a day of it's own accord? Does that count?

Tenacious S said...

Remember when that used to happen here when we first moved in? We'll say it counts. I guess it helps.

Joe said...

I like what you said about not being paralyzed with a feeling of helplessness as you get older. I was telling our girls about how bad things looked, environmentally, in the late 60's and early 70's, and how much cleaner things are in many ways now.

Moderator said...

Now I have that Journey song in my head.

Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollocks said...

I'm already parallel-ized by so much crap in my personal life the destruction of all of life on earth by CFC's is waaay low on my list. For me, this is a step in th' right direction.