Have you heard of Earth Hour? This annual event is taking place on March 30th and the idea is this: wherever you are, at 8:30 PM turn off all non-essential lights for one hour to save energy and celebrate sustainability for the earth.
While some quietly turn off their lights at home, other individuals and organizations hold Earth Hour events to celebrate the idea of taking care of our little "pale blue dot.", opens a new window There are restaurants that serve food by candlelight, universities that have star-viewing parties and discuss the night sky, and state parks that take people on guided night hikes. Earth Hour is meant to be a grassroots movement, which means everyone is encouraged to participate in, create, and post an event, opens a new window on the earth hour website.
Earth Hour was started by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, opens a new window (WWF) in 2007 and is now celebrated around the world to highlight the need to do everything possible to take care of the earth. While the energy saved by turning the lights off for an hour is a relatively small amount, it can remind us how we can collectively pool our positive actions into a future that is lit (possibly by solar or natural light?).
Looking for other opportunities to go green and create sustainability in your local neighborhood? San Mateo County Libraries can help!
- San Carlos Library is holding an easy-to-grow native plants workshop on Thursday, April 11 at 7:00 PM.
- Millbrae Library is holding a plant-based cooking class on Wednesday, April 3 at 6:30 PM and a water-efficient organic edible gardening workshop on Wednesday, April 10 at 7:00 PM.
- Pacifica Sanchez will be hosting an Earthday in the library garden event on Saturday, April 27 at 9:00 AM. Make sure to register first!
See our events page for a full listing and find something that excites you!
You can also access our video streaming service Kanopy to gain free access to a huge list of documentaries about the environment.
Have ideas on how to be green? Share your tips in the comments!
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