I'm not a rabid eco-warrior, but I really like this idea. 

I subscribe to idealbite which is a pithy site with easily digestible tidbits about little things one can do for the environment and oneself, and today's tidbit is great.

Tommorrow is the second  Earth Hour, where people turn off the lights for an hour at 8pm local time. 

Last year, it was only local to Sydney Australia, but the impact was the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road.  This year, some cities are getting actively involved, with massive campaigns, and restaurants offering candlelit dining during that period (I wonder what the kitchens will be doing).

I think it's a good way to become more sensitive to energy consumption and to start dialogues within communities, friends and families about ways to be more environmentally active.  I'm pretty good about turning off lights when I'm not using a room, and not turning on all light sources, but I could probably be better.  It will be very interestingn to see the results of this.  This won't make me rush out for compact flourescent bulbs, however, as a migraineur,  those are not an option for me as they are a huge trigger.

Now, I've been a bit cocooned the last couple weeks, but I haven't heard a thing about this in Austin.  Thinking I've just been too busy working on deadlines and recovering from a mic feedback induced migraine, but no, the google search indicates this just hasn't made much of a ripple in town.  The Chronicle only has a little calendar entry in it, and a few people talk about it on facebook and myspace, but that's about it.   Come on, Austin!




More information at http://www13.earthhourus.org/.