Earth Hour 2009

Dear foodies,

Earth hour, 8:30Pm-9:30PM local time, March 28th, 2009

Switch off your lights and participate in this world wide event to spread awareness about climate change and global warming, and saving energy. We've taken energy consumption for granted for too many years now and are slowly starting to pay the price for it!

The amount of energy saved through this effort last year is amazing, look at a few stats on the Wiki page. This year Las Vegas is one of the flagship cities, and they will be dimming down the lights on the strip, for the whole hour. The strip is so brightly lit all through the year that it can be spotted from outer space. They've never dimmed their lights for more than a minute in the past and their support this year, is considered to be huge (News Link)

There are ghost stories related to power, not the ones that you share when there is no power, but the kind that draws out power (and money!!) slowly, yet steadily from your home. Its called Vampire Power aka stand by power. Its the power that appliances use to stay on stand by, its the red light that your DVD player lights up to show its 'OFF', the power your microwave and stove use to display time. I live in an apt and have just one extension cord that connects my TV, DVR and DVD player, and stays ON all day, that is a vampire. The savings from keeping a check on this for me might be a small percentage of the total cost of utilities. But in larger homes, the savings might be quite substantial. No matter what the amount though, its good to keep a tab on how we use electricity and to be conscious of how we spend it. A few weeks back I stumbled on this page, its the results from a design competition held for green gadgets. A few of the ideas are very innovative, but I also found a few entries to be lame, not well-thought out perhaps.

When I was a kid, the summer power cuts were a boon rather than a bane in the evenings. It was our cue to round up all the kids on our street and chit chat or play games. Our parents could not force us to stick to our books and they could also catch up with our neighbors, and probably exchange ideas to discipline us :)) The candles and glass chimneys (filled with kerosene every day) and matchsticks were always close on hand, just in case :D Here I buy scented candles but they stay forever cos I don't have the heart (or the need!!) to light them. Today could be the day, you could also make that a weekly/monthly ritual as well if you have a group of frnds/family to get together with.

So tonight at 8:30PM, switch off the lights, and appliances that can safely stay without power for an hour. Safety does come first, so do it at your own discretion. Have a great weekend :-)

I am leaving you with a video of the fountain show in front of Bellagio casino on the Las Vegas strip. Pardon the poor video quality though. I loved the show, the music and the way the fountains are choreographed is absolutely stunning. They are spaced 15mins apart I think, and we stayed around to see 2-3 of these that night.