I didn't even know it existed as an event and I read multiple news sources and consider myself better informed than most people. How was it publicized?

Was in the middle of a research paper and completely forgot until I checked my twitter and read messages from other people that did it. :\

We played with our kitty and the flashlight:) Good times

I would have, but I was busy standing in front of the house with my head hung and my fist raised in the air. I figured one hollow, meaningless gesture was as good as another.

Cupajo, I guess the difference is that turning the lights off for an hour produces a measurable gesture. It's hard to count the number of people with their head hung and fists raised in the air.

I listened to some music, in the dark, for an hour.

for those who forgot, you can still turn your lights off for an hour at any time...

Here, Earth Hour extended into "Earth Four Hours" with the only exception being a quick attempt at an online food order, and kitchen lights on briefly when the candles triggered my smoke alarm. :)

Other than that, no lights, no TV, no music.

The BF and I played Gin and finished up his (awesome) homemade sangria. I also bought a little "Blackout Cake" from Balducci's.

We plan to make it a monthly event. Until it gets too hot. But then maybe we will make an AC exception!

SoSue, my point (and I do have one) is that the only real "measurable" effect of Earth Hour is to make people feel good about themselves. "Well, I don't know what to say. I did MY part. I turned my lights off for a whole hour!"

If you want to do something about global warming on a personal level, try changing your life in some meaningful way. Take public transportation (or do what I did and move within walking distance of where you work). Plant a garden and resolves to eat locally produced seasonal food and stop buying produce from a mega-mart that ships it cross country. Replace all your disposables with something re-usable (glass for food storage, cloth to replace paper towels, etc). Line dry all of your laundry.

Big Business is not going to take any steps to fight global warming unless we hit them in the wallet. It *is* up to us to take very real steps and turning your lights off for an hour just isn't going to cut it. Come back and talk to me when you figure out how to turn them off for a week.

Or a month.

we had wine and cake by candlelight. it was wonderful! so fun, in fact, i'm thinking of having an earth hour every week.

it's not so much about turning the lights off--i think it's more about knowing that even the small things can make a difference. and they do, in time.

so chin up. earth hour was just one small (but global) way to spread the word about doing more.

It may have been "just a gesture", but I daresay the darkening of the Empire State Building for an hour had a measurable effect...

OK, maybe "just a gesture" is a harsh way of saying it, but the facts hold. Any positive emotional effect of turning the Empire State Building lights off for an hour would be totally transitory. Nobody will remember it in a week. And in the end, it really is just about making ourselves feel better.

Cupajo, you're right, I do feel better better for having participated. But, please don't assume that is the only thing I do. I think it's important to show your support for initiatives like this.

Well, cupajo, you've succeeded in making us feel bad about ourselves again, so I guess you've proven your point about how fleeting it all actually is. :P

But seriously, do you get "awareness marketing" at all?

We, collectively, will get NOWHERE with the issue if what we do feels like a sacrifice. It has to be solutions of cumulative small steps... EXACTLY the intent of Earth Hour, measurable effect or not.

I made sure all my lights were off when I went out on Saturday, and am happy to report that my small gesture helped reduce power consumption in my city by 5.2% for that hour. In Toronto, power consumption dropped by a whopping 15.1%! Go Hogtown!

I agree with cupajo. My opinion (and we know the deal with opinions) is that Earth Hour may have had a negative effect in terms of "awareness marketing" . . . the green movement has made great, huge strides in the last few years by making persuasive arguments based on efficiency and economics . . . reverting to an emotional argument is a huge step backwards.

It wasn't my intention to make anyone feel bad about participating in Earth Hour. If it reminds everyone to do more, then great. Too many people will think it's an antidote for wasteful living, though.

I personally know a couple of "climate warriors" who took the Earth Hour opportunity to go for a drive in the country. They turned all the lights off in the house, unplugged all the electronics (to avoid power vampirism), and then piled the kids in the SUV for a several-hour drive in the country. Never realizing (I suppose) that they wasted more energy driving around aimlessly for a few hours than if they had stayed home with every light in the house burning for a few hours and the oven cranked up to 400 degrees with the door propped open and the AC running.

And Patrick, I couldn't disagree more with this:

"We, collectively, will get NOWHERE with the issue if what we do feels like a sacrifice. It has to be solutions of cumulative small steps..."

The time for small steps has passed. It's now time for people to start sacrificing (painful ones, if necessary) to fight the problem. We could take small steps for a thousand years while people 'get used to the idea' of making big changes, and we will 'small-step' right over the line of no return.

All I'm saying is this. Leaving the lights off for an hour does not make up for leaving them on in an empty room for the other 8,759 in a year.
If you are living simply and conservatively (power-wise) then great. I applaud your efforts to raise awareness by participating in Earth Hour.
If you're not, then nobody cares that you sat in the dark for an hour and read your Architectural Digest by candle-light.

We disagree, clearly.

But NO one here, and certainly nothing I read by the event organizers, declared this an antidote.

At least this event was not organized by holier-than-thou people whose mode of operation is making people feel bad for at least making an effor, or slamming those who "don't do enough". Or, for that matter, making snide assumptions about people's reading choices.

Off topic: all this time (since the division of the AT websites), I thought my account had been erased and then I realized that for some reason I just cannot vote in any polls, even when logged in!

So, I'm going to have to put my vote in the comments without actually voting in the polls...my family participated in Earth Hour for the second year in a row by turning off just about everything, all lights, non-battery operated electronics, etc (except this year we cheated by leaving one TV on as we were in the middle of watching a movie that I had a background role in and I had never seen it before). I was disappointed this year that it seemed like none of our neighbours participated. Anyways, I hear a lot of people complaining that this event was purely "symbolic" and wouldn't make an actual difference because it was only one hour but that's the whole point--symbolism has a lot of power and this event not only creates awareness of climate change but also sends a message to politicians, CEO's and other "leaders" that people do (hopefully) care and that they will have to start taking climate change seriously if only because the people (who vote or purchase their products) care.

PS. Okay, now the poll is working. I guess i had to log in twice and reload the page twice...go figure :)

I work at Starbucks and hosted a candlelight coffee tasting party for earth hour. It was awesome.

I participated. I realize that it is symbolic, but I agree that it is silly to presume that those of us who participated don't do anything else for the environment. I don't own a car, I take public transportation or walk to get around, I work for a non-profit, I am in my 3rd year with my CSA, I downsized to a place 1/3 the size, I switched out all of my lights to CFLs, I bring reusable bags with me everywhere, I am a vegetarian, I buy used and freecycle before trashing/recycling items I don't want, and I probably do about a billion other things that I can't remember at this moment.

I was disappointed that the DC Convention Center didn't seem to turn off its lights. It was on the list on the Earth Hour site, but I walked by it twice (my Earth Hour activity was to go for a neighborhood walk) and didn't notice it looking any darker than usual.

I participated too, there was a big lighting storm so I sat on my deck and watched the rain, I did leave the radio on because we were in the middle of a tornado warning and I didn't want to die. But I know a lot of earth conscious people who bike regularly, recycle, and carry their own grocery bags who don't think to unplug the microwave. 'Earth Hour' is a small step but it will help people really THINK about how much energy they are using, just how many light switches are in their house. It's like offering people those 'wooden nickel' at the Whole Foods for bringing in their own bag. It helps remind you how much you are wasting on a day to day basis.
Anything that gets people thinking positively is a good thing.