Earth Hour This Saturday

If good things in happen in the dark, then this Saturday will be a wild night because Earth Hour is coming to San Francisco and the whole planet.

To join this shady party is easy. On Saturday evening March 29, 2008 from 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm, turn off any and all lights. That’s it. And then light some candles and celebrate because the Earth is fighting global warming with the flip of a switch.

If you are really motivated to make a difference, seize the moment to switch an incandescent light bulb to an energy-saving compact fluorescent and put a few power-sucking electronics on a power strip. And then get back to your dimly-lit party for the planet.

Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour first came to San Francisco on October 20 as Lights Out thanks to surfing green man Nate Tyler. Nate is now focused on office buildings who leave their lights on all night even when nobody is burning the midnight oil.

City Hall is in. Grace Cathedral is in. The Golden Gate Bridge is in. Many restaurants are in. Sydney, Australia is in. Cate Blanchett is in. Entourage's bad boy agent Jeremy Piven is in. 24 global cities are in. I’m in. Look for your city to go dark on Saturday night.

Eco-Tip: Light a soy candle or beeswax candle. Paraffin candles are made from petroleum and give off as many air pollutants as a diesel engine. Great eco-friendly candles include Method soy candles, Pure Necessities, Something Wicked soy candles with hemp wicks, Philips Aurelle LED candles, Beeswax Candle Works, D.L. & Co Candles, and the beautiful Nomine soy candles.

The Earth Hour web site is a buggy video bandwidth disaster that is trying to promote 60 minutes as the thing. My advice is to skip it and just turn off the lights on Saturday night, and even more importantly every day and night thereafter when they are not needed at home and at work. Good green things happen in the dark.   www.lightsoutamerica.org