planetLOVE: happy Earth Hour!

I'm not the world's biggest tree hugger, but I do try and make as small of a carbon footprint as possible.  Most people know our family is all about bicycle commuting - my brothers-in-law, my husband, my boys, and I all make a point of riding our bikes everywhere we possibly can, even when it's -30 and there's snow blowing.  (Yes, the crazy lady you see hauling a kid around in a Chariot in the middle of a blizzard is me taking Serejane to daycare.)

Tonight was Earth Hour.  From 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm in your local time zone, everyone was asked to turn their lights off.  Not your TV or your computer or anything else - just your lights.  One of the first things I noticed, being in the dark and all, was that the City of Edmonton obviously didn't get the lights out notice, which ended up with me having these beautiful haunting tree shadows cast through the prism of my bathroom window's privacy coating.

We took it up a notch and went as powerless as possible, which included using the rechargeable portable video player to watch movies in bed.  Above, the girls watched 'Flushed Away' while we counted down the hour, and I unplugged the mac and went cordless.

My friend Christine had tweeted about how dark her street was so I decided to go out and check how ours was doing.

The apartment building up the road got a big fat F.

(Art came out with me - isn't he cute in his cone?  He sounds like a little snow-shovel when he snuffling around...)  The apartment building failed, but for the most part, our street was dark.

Whether that was because nobody was home or because they al heard about Earth Hour I may never know, but it was looking encouraging. I do know with certainty that at our house, it was blinkin' dark (below).

So maybe an hour of darkness isn't much.  But, we recycle, use energy-efficient bulbs, live close to work and work close to home, use public transportation, shop second-hand, grow some of our own food, and compost as much as we can.  Maybe it isn't as much as some, but it's more than many, and it's better than nothing.  Want to learn more about reducing your carbon footprint?  For all kinds of tips and tricks on being green, visit the National Geographic website here, or do a google search for 'going green' or 'reducing my carbon footprint.'