The EcoChic

It’s now almost 10am and our local Earth Hour has just finished. Gearing up for Earth Hour this year was different this year since we aren’t at home (with family). At 8 pm we finally put the kids in the bath and hoped they would be done by 8:30.

A few minutes before we made them clean their room (mostly for safety reasons) before we turned off the lights. The baby fell asleep a few minutes before lights out. The older kids (we’re with family) decided to get their tent out and make a fort. A few blankets and they were happy.

My nephew had a tantrum and ended up asleep before long and my SIL and I were left to entertain my son. In actuality he entertained us! We let the wine pour and laughed at his antics.

I found out that his favorite school lunch is corn dogs and egg salad! (not together!). With the baby I haven’t found much to talk about his day at school now.

I also talked to my brother and SIL and got to know more about them. They have only lived in the same state for about a year or so. It’s nice to have family nearby again.

I also enjoyed 2 glasses of wine and I now need to go to bed. My son on the other hand was dying for cartoons and the television is back on. As you can tell, my phone is back on too.

We need to unplug more often!

What about you? What did you do for Earth Hour?

I haven’t had much time to promote Earth Hour this year but that doesn’t mean that it’s slipped my mind.

Three years ago I was flying home from a business trip when I first heard about Earth Hour. Of course I was IN THE AIR during Earth Hour and couldn’t really help the cause much.

Last year I was able to share my first Earth Hour with so many people. I was able to teach my son’s Kindergarten class about Earth Hour; they even made posters and told their parents to turn off the lights.  At home we actually spent about an hour and a half without electricity and it was a great teaching opportunity for my son.  This whole year he’s been my little electricity guru…always urging people to turn off their lights.  You can read about how we spent last Earth Hour on THIS post from last year.

But what about this year?  This year I will be away from home with family.  My parents, grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins (and more) will all be celebrating each other at my SILs house a few hours from home.  I emailed my SIL a few days ago and told her all about Earth Hour and what I would like to do (turn off all the lights during the party!).  When I talked to her today she was super excited.  She actually celebrated Earth Hour with her own son last year and was looking forward to doing it again this year!  So the party is on…but the lights will be off.

Are you new to Earth Hour?  Not quite sure what I’m talking about?  Earth Hour is an annual event to celebrate and raise awareness of climate change and the impact that we ALL make on this planet.  It’s simple really, if everyone on Earth made one small change (turning off lights, recycling, cloth diapers, etc) in their life to be more green we would make great progress to changing the world.  If we all make the same small change at the same time…the message will be heard louder! 

During Earth Hour, everyone is asked to turn off their lights (and TVs, computers, phones, etc) for one hour at 8:30pm local time.  Entire cities have committed to turning off the lights for Earth Hour.  Last year the Sydney Opera House went dark, the Eiffel Tower went  dark, the Las Vegas strip went dark, and the Empire State building went dark…for one whole hour!  It’s only one hour out of your entire year; can you make the commitment and join me and the thousands of others as we go dark?

Earth Hour is a great opportunity to teach our children many important lessons.  By celebrating Earth Hour you will be teaching your child:

- that we can all disconnect from technology (yes, even from blogs and Twitter) and spend time together.

- that we need to be mindful of the amount of electricity that we all use each day.

- that we can hear the voice of God more clearly when we allow ourselves to be silent.

- that we can all make a difference…no matter how big or how small we might be.

- that if we all work together as a team, family, or community that our voices will be heard. 

Tell me your story!  Have you celebrated Earth Hour before?  How will you be spending your hour in the dark?  What will you be teaching your children?

Hello?  Hello?

Oh yes, I’m still here! March (well ok all of 2010) has been a little overwhelming.  The entire family has been sick on and off this month (yes the entire month), we’ve had birthdays, anniversaries, worried about family members, saddened by friends who lost family members, and completely crazy with all the new stuff going on with Eco Mom Media.  I have been reminded more than once this year that God won’t dish out more than I can handle…and I honestly think he’s testing me!  So today I will hug my family tight and enjoy my friends.  But I can’t stay away from this place (blogosphere) too long!

Did you know that March 27th is Earth Hour??  You have heard of Earth Hour haven’t you?  NO!  OK, so on March 27th people all around the world turn OFF their lights (and phones and computers and well…anything electric) for one hour at 8:30pm local time.  Why?  To draw attention to climate change and the fact that we all need to globally take charge and make changes in our lives.  This planet is our only one.  We only get one chance to make the right decisions.  This year should be rather fun for me…I’ll be at my parents house for the weekend…with a party going on!  They are going to LOVE me!!!  But it’s not just me, my son remembers our Earth Hour from last year where we stepped outside and played board games in the candle light as a family.  Go read more about Earth Hour and don’t worry…I’ll remind you to turn off your lights!

What else? Oh yeah April is right around the corner (scary I know!!) which means Earth Day is slowing sneaking up on us.  I have so many plans…I help organize a huge event at work each year for over 2,000 employees, I’m hosting the #GetRealDiapers Twitter Party, and I want to go see Disney Nature’s newest film Oceans!  Last year I had a date with my son to go see Earth and it was fabulous.  I can only imagine that Ocean will be even better (but I love, love, love the Ocean so I might be a little biased!).  Earth Day is always a busy time in my house! 

Here are a few pictures from my Disney escape this past weekend.  Hubby and I snuck away without the kids to celebrate our anniversary.  Wow…that was needed!  Anyways, Epcot is having their Flower and Garden Festival right now and here are some of my favorite pics.     

What are your plans for Earth Hour and Earth Day?  Anything exciting?  Leave your comments below…I’d love to hear them!

PS…No, I wasn’t compensated for anything I talked about in this post.  Just The Eco Chic talking about life!

It is now 10pm EST and Earth Hour 2009 is over in our town.  But it’s not really over is it?  We have the responsibility to celebrate Earth Hour ever hour!  We should all be responsible for our actions and for the footprints we leave on this Earth. 

It was about 7:30pm and my 6 yr old told me Earth Hour was fast approaching.  He was making his plan of action.  “If the movie isn’t over then we’ll have to turn it off at 8:29pm,”  he said.  By 8pm our movie was over and he said, “can we start it early?”  So we took some time to make sure the lights were all off in the rest of the house.  Next, we turned the a/c and fans off.  Then we unplugged our electronics.  The only lights that I could see in the house were the stove/microwave clocks which I couldn’t reach the plug from behind the stove.  I wish I knew how much electricity we saved during our hour!

We finally made it to the back porch (it was lighter there) after we lit all of our candles and set up Monopoly.  The baby was sleeping and the three of us played Monopoly.  We laughed, giggled, played, and laughed some more!  It was a very memorable evening.

Before we started our game the hubby and I stepped out front.  As I suspected all our neighbors still had their lights on.  Earth Hour wasn’t mentioned in local media so that didn’t surprise me much.  I was tempted to walk around and explain it to our neighbors and see what their response was…but I decided to enjoy the time with my family instead.  So that brings me to my question, Can one person (or one family) really make a difference?  Of course we can.  Last year I didn’t even know what Earth Hour was until I was seated on my plane coming home reading about it DURING EARTH HOUR!  How ironic I know.  This year I’ve been blogging about it for weeks, my friends and family know all about it, and I even spent an afternoon at the school explaining it to my sons class.  If just one more person celebrated Earth Hour tonight because of my efforts than YES, one person can make a difference. 

I’m actually sad that Earth Hour is over for 2009.  I’m going to try to make our own Earth Hour once a month to remind us how important the Earth is to us…and how important we are to one another. 

I’d love to hear how you spent your hour!

…for Earth Hour 2009!  Be sure to turn the lights out at 8:30pm for one hour for Climate Change! 

And it’s not just the lights.  Here are some other things to remember to do for Earth Hour:

• Unplug anything with a light (tv, vcr, dvd, tivo, etc)
• Unplug the computer cord
• Unplug the cell phone charger
• Turn off the fans

So what can you do during Earth Hour?

• Light some candles
• Play board games
• Spend some quality family time
• Star gaze
• Just enjoy being around one another

What not to do for Earth Hour?  Don’t turn your lights off at home and go out to a restaurant that has the lights on!  This is what my husband actually suggested!  LOL! 

Enjoy your Earth Hour and don’t forget to tell a friend!

Earth Hour 2009 is approaching FAST!  Saturday, March 28th from 8:30pm-9:30pm take a stand to fight climate change by turning off your lights (and all electrical items) for an hour.  Visit www.EarthHour.org or www.EarthHourKids.org to learn more.

What will you be doing during Earth Hour?  I had the pleasure of spending an hour with some wonderful Kindergartner’s yesterday (in the dark) to see how they would spend their time.  I started by reading a great children’s book about global warming.  Winston of Churchill, One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warmingby Jean Davies Okimoto is a funny story about a group of polar bears who know that “we must all do our part, no matter how small.”  Below are some ideas that the kids had on how to spend their hour without electricity. 

• Playing board games with their family.
• Playing with play-doh.
• Sleep.
• Play cards.
• Build a puzzle.
• Light a candle (with adult supervision)
• Go for a walk.
• Look at the stars.

Not too bad for a group of 5-6 year olds!  How are you going to spend your Earth Hour on Saturday?

DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE ECO STORE USA GIVEAWAY FOR A $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO USE AT THEIR ONLINE STORE.  CONTEST ENDS APRIL 1ST.

Can you live without your lights for one hour?  Then join WWF and your local community and make a statement to show your commitment to climate change and finding a solution.  All you need to do is turn out the lights for one hour.

Want to do more?  Visit http://www.earthhourus.org/main.php to learn how you can help organize Earth Hour in your community.

Wow, my comments on my last post were…HARSH!  I decided to leave the comments because they do have some validation to them; they are honest comments!  HOWEVER…if you looked at the time of the post you will see that I was at home when the clock struck 8pm!  Wasn’t that the whole point; to make a statement at one specific time?

As for the environmental impact of flying…yes…it is a huge problem.  However, I don’t really think my work would understand if I said I NEVER wanted to fly again.  Sometimes you don’t really have a choice. 

So for my negative commenters (if they ever choose to read my blog again)…what exactly would you have done if your job required you to fly?  It doesn’t change my opinions and feelings on protecting the environment.  It doesn’t change my opinions on oil.  I really don’t see it as being a hypocrite…would you really like me to look into your life?  I don’t claim to be a perfect environmental steward.  If you read ABOUT ME you will see I’m taking as many steps as I can to be BETTER! 

And please remember, unless they are spam or flaming vulgaritites…I will keep your comments.  I think it’s great to hear both positive and negative comments.  So thank you!