Mark Your Calendars: March 28th is Earth Hour

Recently I got a Shutterfly email of my photo memories from 13 years ago. (Shutterfly is a photo storage service.) The first photo was a family birthday picture at a family birthday party with all the cousins and grandparents. While 2007 doesn't sound like that long ago, the li'l ones' faces (who are now not so li'l) in the photo told a different story.

The reason I mention this? 13 years ago, 2007, was the year of the first Earth Hour.

Earth Hour started in 2007 as a grassroots movement in Sydney, Australia. Not something that was even on my radar 13 years ago. But now over time, just like my kids and their cousins in that photo, Earth Hour has grown and blossomed. It has now become one of the largest environmental grassroots movements. People in over 180 countries and territories turned out their lights for one hour as a symbolic gesture to make a visual impact of how we all can make a difference.

To take part, it only involves switching off your light switch, at you own home, on Saturday, March 28. Mark you calendar. That night, turn off all non-essential lights from 8:30-9:30 pm in your time zone as a wave of darkness will travel across the globe. Of course you could always take part in a bigger event too, which is great if you are searching out community. But it just goes to show you how much you can be a part of something bigger than yourself even by only doing this one action at home. It's a great way for you and your family to "unplug" too and get a little meaningful time off tech!

The power of one, multiplied out numbers times, makes a world of difference. Symbolically & literally.

To learn more about Earth Hour:

• Check out the World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour site & discover how you can take part or find an event near you.
• Visit the GTG archives for past Earth Hour posts
• Watch their official 2020 video here:

Video from https://youtu.be/eOGWsOEE710, Screenshot from https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/earth-hour