Simple Steps for Saturday

Remember, it all starts at home. The power of one can be incredibly surprising, so take these simple steps and join the worldwide effort to conserve energy and raise awareness:

• Turn off all your lights, TVs and stereos. Pad corners tables with foam to prevent injuries that will occur as you clumsily bump into everything.
• Unplug electronics, such as computers, TVs and microwaves. Even when not in use, these items still draw energy and contribute to the release of greenhouse gases.
• Instead of driving down the street, get your lazy ass off the couch and walk. After all, bathing suit weather is just around the corner. Or, take the C-Train.
• Use less hot water. Shorter showers help, and so does washing clothes in cold water. As a bonus, the latter also prevents the formation of short sleeves or pants that are on their way to becoming capris.

Stay Entertained During the Darkness

You might be asking, what can I do to stay entertained while the power is off? The obvious answer: sex with ugly people. No, but seriously, there’s more to do than romp in the sack and I’m about to tell you what that includes. Considering that we live in an age where we are obsessed with e-mail, news tickers and media engorgement, many find the thought of disconnecting to be slightly Amish.

Fortunately, businesses around the city want to help. Café Koi, for example, will be serving up a special menu with food prepared beforehand, or cooked without the use of electricity. Candles will fill in for lights, creating a warm and romantic mood. Countless other restaurants and bars across town are following suit as well, with acoustic performances and dinner by candlelight featuring heavily downtown.

Another suggestion is to host a candlelit party. Not only will the mood be right, but everyone looks better in the soft glow of fire. Come up with some unique and innovative Earth Hour cocktails. After all, who doesn’t love a theme party?

Lastly, if you’d rather stay at home, take the time to catch up with friends and family, pour a relaxing bath, or enjoy a bottle of wine by candle light. With the weather warming, it could even be the perfect time to step outside and revel in a downtown core that will be (unusually) softly glowing. Who knows – you might even be able to do a little stargazing, depending where you are in the city.

More Than Just An Hour

The hopes of Earth Hour are to create a ripple effect and engrain environmentally-friendly habits into our everyday routines. Try to incorporate these habits into your life for longer than just Earth Hour itself. Simple things, like switching to compact fluorescent bulbs and spending even a minute less in the shower can make a huge difference. So far, the planet has been good to us, barring Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 tsunami, the Yangtze River Floods, and the Black Plague. Okay, so maybe she hasn’t been exactly nurturing, but if we continue to pillage at our current rate, things will only get worse. As the wise Hannibal Lecter told Clarice, “Quid pro quo.” Now’s the time to lend a hand to Mother Earth, so do your part Saturday night. Maybe – just maybe – we can make Al Gore cry some happy tears.