Doing it with the lights out and the engine off. Ooh Yeah!

Good Friday everyone! It's foggy in Manch Vegas this morning, but the weather has been consistently bearable- which is giving me the Spring itch. I can't remember the last time I was excited for mud season ... I better sport some galoshes this year and save myself a lot of heart ache.

So, back to what I was talking about yesterday and a mention to a movement that I'm really quite enamored with.

On to those idling engines.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has a great explanation of the repercussions of idling your engine before you go to work in the morning, while waiting at stop lights, sitting in a parking lot- you get the gist.

I've been a victim of needing to warm up the car in the morning, but I've decided to put an end to the waste that ultimately causes. Need to defrost? Buy a window scraper and brush. Cold hands on the steering wheel? Wear gloves. Finishing a great song in your car before going inside? Keep the battery on, shut off the engine. This is one simple effort that can make a huge difference in the amount of gas we consume and the pollution we ultimately put into our atmosphere. I'm willing to try- are you? Please comment and we'll see what kind of conversation we can get going on this topic.

Now, for one of the more innovative and interesting movements I've ever been involved with:

Earth Hour will rock your soul.



*This graphic might be too large for this post, but check out the Earth Hour website for a better look at it.

I've made mention of this global partnership in past Myspace blogs, but since I got an e-mail reminder from the group this morning, I figured I would attempt to put it in readers heads once again.

Earth Hour will take place on March 28, between 8 and 9 p.m., all over the world. Participants agree to turn off all their lights, appliances, anything that sucks up electricity for one hour.

I know what you're thinking: "So what?"

Imagine if, for that one hour, all of New Hampshire turned out the lights. Imagine what that would do to, say, PSNH? What if all of Dublin (one of the flagship cities for Earth Hour) turned off all of their power between 8 and 9? What kind of impact would that have on the European Union and their energy sources?

The point is, we use a lot of energy as humans. If we could make the effort to use less of it- if we could make a conscious effort to unplug appliances when not in use and turn of lights when we're leaving a room, imagine the impact we could make in a whole day instead of one hour. It could be amazing.

So, please visit that above link and pledge your hour for March 28. We can make a difference, we can send a message to others. Plus, your electric bill will drop, even if it is just a few cents. Pennies add up, guys.

Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone has a great Friday and a wonderful weekend. Mark and I are going snowshoeing this Saturday at his cousin's house in Raymond- they live on some conservation land that we're all really excited to explore. I'll see if I can't fix my camera and take some pictures along the way.

One hug to a tree per day will keep your woes at bay.

Love,
Say
[That salutation was a bit much, huh? Sorry.]