Earth Hour - Fun in the Dark

by Lauri Griffin | More from this Blogger

29 Mar 2008 09:42 AM

Tonight, March 29, 2008 is the second annual Earth Hour, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. The idea behind this hour is to raise awareness of steps we can all do to fight climate change. It's an international event. The idea is simple, turn off your lights at 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. your local time. Turn off those computers. You can leave on security lights, the fridge and the heat! Millions of people around the globe are participating. If you go to do a Google search today, you'll see even they have "turned off the lights".

This hour is a great time to talk about the environment. Can your family start recycling? Join a clean up a river or park project? Buy local or organic food? Take reusable bags to the grocery store?

I am looking forward to the hour. We will light some safe candles, eat some popcorn, and play some board games. I think we'll read some books like Lynne Cherry's The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest, or A River Ran Wild. There's also the beautiful Water Dance and Cloud Dance by Thomas Locker. For younger children there are the First Wonders of Nature board books.

The World Wildlife Fund website suggests having a night picnic. That sounds like a lot of fun. I can see families looking at the moon and the stars, sipping on hot chocolate. Since it will probably be about 20 degrees here tonight, I'm thinking it will be a little chilly for our Colorado night temperatures.

I am excited that there are so many cities participating in Earth Hour. It's a great time to get out the globe, explain time zones, and find these flagship cities of Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, San Francisco, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Bogota, and Brisbane. When it's not a lights off hour, check out those cities and our amazing planet with Google Earth.

Have a happy Earth Hour!

Also See:

Earth Day Activities for Families

Google Earth

Earth Day Activities in Families.com Forums

Green Recipes for Earth Hour

Learn more about Lauri Griffin

Lauri lives in Colorado with her husband and three sons. Amidst all the laundry and packing of lunches, she tries to keep parenting fun.

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JMcReynolds (95) 31 Mar 2008 10:10 AM

We missed this since I was in the Vagina Monologues. We'll have to do our own Earth Hour to make up for it. The kids actually like to turn off all the lights and use their flashlights to find things Scott hides for them. I don't know if it's ever lasted an hour, so we'll fill in with your ideas!

Lauri Griffin (2703) 07 Apr 2008 10:46 AM

Good luck with your own Earth Hour.