Earth Hour and the Hour of Man

Earth Hour, in 2008, happens on March 29 between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. You can participate by turning off your lights during this hour. Earth Hour is the perfect way to begin your commitment to fighting climate change. For more information, visit the Earth Hour website, here:

Earth Hour website

Earth Hour is a small sacrifice: one hour per year. More than 50 years ago, the poet Walker Winslow proposed that -- to save our troubled world -- each of us might contribute one hour per week. Winslow called this concept "The Hour of Man."

He explained:
"I want to see the radio or television turned off for an hour a week, the paper or magazine laid aside, the car locked safely in the garage, the bridge table folded, the liquor bottle corked, and the sedatives kept tightly in their packages. I want to see production and consumption forgotten for this hour. Politics must be forgotten, national or international. The hour I propose could be called The Hour of Man. During this hour man could ask himself and his neighbor just what purpose they are serving on earth, what life is, what a man or woman can rightly ask of life as well as what they must give in return. If that man is working and struggling for what he really wants, is it worth the price he pays in personal suffering? Neighbors should learn to listen intently to neighbors. In only that way will the eye turn inward. In other people's souls they could see the undistorted image of their own souls. As they helped others they would help themselves."

A beautiful idea!

In every age, there are individuals who believe the goodness of human beings, and work for a better society: a new age of wisdom, caring, and community. Earth Hour on Saturday night -- with participants all over the world -- is a small step and significant step toward a greener and healthier world.

Watch the video (on YouTube) about Earth Hour: