Good afternoon, dear friends 
This year, Earth Hour is being taken to the higher level, with a goal of 1 billion people worldwide switching off their lights as part of a global vote for our beloved Earth, against global warming. This year, my family will be taking part in this global event and wherever you are, do join us and switch off your lights at -
8.30pm (your local time), Saturday, 28 March 2009.
During Earth Hour, switching off our lights means we are voting for Earth, and leaving our lights on means we are supporting Global Warming. I have read that the ice caps will all have melted in 60 years time, and it is a scary thought indeed to imagine how that will contribute to the rising sea waters in the world. Also, the weather climate will be terribly affected. I don’t know about your country, but here in Malaysia, we are experiencing unusually higher than normal rainfalls during this period, when we should have dry, hot weather. There are floods happening all over and many people are down with coughs and colds, caused by the hot and rainy weather.
Gather some loved ones, friends or organise a little event at home to make this even fun. Spread the news around about Earth Hour and make more people aware that here is an opportunity to do our part and say our piece over protecting Mother Earth and reduce global warming.
I will be making some finger foods and ice-cold lemonade for this event, and we will have have a little picnic in our garden … practically in the dark during Earth hour. It will be fun! 
Happy Earth Hour 2009!
NatureAdvice said,
March 18, 2009 @ 9:53 pm
Thanks for promoting Earth Hour! Another way you can recruit people to the cause is by creating a Earth Hour group on Commit21.com. Simply create a group about one action that you will commit to do for Earth Hour and recruit your friends, family, and co-workers to get involved in that action as well. When it comes to climate change, simple actions can make huge differences and Commit21 leverages social media to influence networks of friends, family, and co-workers. Check it out at http://www.commit21.com
happyhomemaker88 said,
March 24, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
Hi there and welcome, dear NatureAdvice
Thank you for the link to Commit21…that is very useful in getting more people to join the Earth Hour cause.
With peace and harmony,
choesf
manila said,
March 29, 2009 @ 6:57 pm
Hi Choesf,
My husband was more particular about yesterday’s earth hour than me.
He made sure that not just the lights and fans but down to the refrigerator, everything was shut off. And the fun part was that my 3 year old daughter insisted on going out to buy something, so we anticipated that we will not be back by 8:30pm, hence, we shut off power at 7:00p.m and came back at 10:00pm. So 3 hours of contribution from us.
In India, we are used to power cuts for hours, especially during summer months. So switching off power for just one hour was nothing for us. But sadly not everyone participated. Some malls were extra lit up.
Anyway, we can’t take responsibility for other’s actions.
For all the people who were concerned about our planet, I would like to say that we all did a good thing by showing our concern and acting on it. It is small gestures like this that count. After all we have to take care of mother ‘Earth’.
If not for any other reason then for our children’s sake. So that all children in the world enjoy clean, fresh and pollution free environment in the future.
Take care and keep writing.
Manila
happyhomemaker88 said,
March 29, 2009 @ 10:05 pm
Hi there, dear Manila
Thank you for sharing your Earth Hour experience with us. My family turned off all lights and my children played chess with the help of torchlights. We had an early dinner and I didn’t make any finger foods that I wanted to. But I am glad that my family managed to do our small part in contributing to this global cause. At least here in Malaysia, for the first time, we have a lot of publicity for this environmental issue and many organisations now have put in long term serious measures to do their part towards a better environment and cut back on global warming.
Take care and do have a lovely week ahead!
With best wishes,
choesf
rei said,
April 17, 2009 @ 11:43 am
It is wonderful to see Asia becoming more earth conscious and taking the effort to educate the younger generation.
As an environmental educator, conservationist and naturalist, I see a great importance in instilling good values with children and while I do my best to pass my love and passion for our gentle Earth Mother and her creatures onto the young Padawans in our programs, I know the best influence starts from the heart of home.
It is so heartwarming to read your contribution, as well as Manila’s.
It is an on-going effort to continue to pursue and educate people to live smart and sustainably without looking at it as a sacrifice.
Thank you for your generosity,
Rei
happyhomemaker88 said,
April 19, 2009 @ 8:58 am
Thank you again for your lovely comments, dear Rei
It is you that I should thank as you are an environmental educator, conservationist and naturalist – you do a greater job in teaching people, especially young children, of the importance of taking care of Mother Earth and her environment right now…or else the future generations will see a barren Earth sooner than they think.
We as parents should take the first step by teaching our children of these values at home.
With peace and harmony,
choesf