CyberCJH's Blog

Earth Hour in the Eastern time zone has begun.

Stay tuned to this blog post (and keep refreshing) as we
chronicle our thoughts and experiences over the next hour.

Note … in case we lose our connection (meaning the batteries don’t last until 9:30pm), we’ll be on Twitter. Check the Twitter RSS feed on the right.

• 8:30pm – Electric power to the house has been turned off.
• 8:32pm - All the battery backups are beeping like crazy.
• 8:40pm – We’re still online. Batteries seem to be hold up so far. I had to plug in my laptop to the network  – it doesn’t seem like the battery supplies enough power to the router for the wireless signal. I wonder if that even makes sense…
• 8:42pm – I wonder how many people are participating in this…
• 8:44pm – I just noticed the battery backup for the cordless phone in the bedroom is dead already. WTF.
• 8:49pm – Just watched the EarthHour video from the Philippines on YouTube.
• 8:52pm – The battery backup for the cordless phone in the office just died. We’re now plunged back into the 1980s by having to use the corded phone in the kitchen. Now I know why these batteries were on clearance at Staples. Ha!
• 8:54pm – I’m thirsty.
• 9:01pm – Only 29 minutes to go. I wonder how much impact we’ll have by switching off the electricity for one hour…
• 9:09pm – The temperature in here is up to 75. Only 21 minutes to go.
• 9:15pm – Tina just took her blood sugar. It was 154. Then, she took mine. It was 99.
• 9:18pm – 12 minutes until Earth Hour 2009 is over.
• 9:22pm – My face, arms and knees are sun burnt. And, it was mostly cloudy at the beach today. Crap, our battery backup for the DSL modem and router just died. It lasted 52 minutes.
• 9:25pm – 5 more minutes until the lights go back on!
• 9:26pm – Tina is going to the potty with a flashlight. My laptop battery has only 33% remaining. But, it is over 3 years old.
• 9:27pm – 3 more minutes.
• 9:28pm – 2 more minutes.
• 9:29pm – Earth Hour 2009 will be over in 1 minute. We’re glad we participated. It was a good experience.
• 9:30pm – Electric power restored. Hooray!

For about a week prior to Earth Hour, this was the opening page to my blog.

From 8:30pm-9:30pm on 3/28/09, this was the opening page to my blog.

written by cybercjh \\ tags: earthhour, voteearth

Earth Hour is only 1 day and 8 hours away.

Earth Hour will turn Broadway dark, dim Times Square’s billboards, cut the Empire State and Chrysler buildings’ glow and shut off the lights around the world from landmarks like the Great Pyramids and the Eiffel Tower to the homes of millions of ordinary citizens.

McDonald’s will even soften the yellow glow from some of its Golden Arches.

It’s the world’s first global election. An election between earth and global warming. It’s not about what country you’re from, but what planet you’re from. Your light switch is your vote. We’re aiming for one billion votes for earth because our planet is worth saving. Vote earth by simply switching of your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.

Saturday, March 28th at 8:30pm.

written by cybercjh \\ tags: earthhour, voteearth

For one hour, this Saturday, March 28, 2009 starting at 8:30pm ET, we will participate in Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the World Wildlife Fund held on the last Saturday of March that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Based on an idea successfully executed in Thailand in 2005, it was pioneered by WWF Australia and the Sydney Morning Herald in 2007 and achieved worldwide participation in 2008.

In our house, the main switch on the circuit breaker will be turned off at 8:30pm for one hour. Now, in Florida, it’s not uncommon to go days (sometimes weeks) without electricity after a hurricane, though I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid that, so far. Thus, it goes without saying that an hour of electricitylessness (I invented a new word!) will probably seem like a proverbial walk in the park for most Floridians. But, this will be an interesting hour.

A lot of the electronic gizmos in our house are connected to a UPS – our DSL modem, wireless router, switch, computers and cordless phones and, of course, our laptops and the NOAA weather radio have their own batteries. So, we won’t be totally in the dark or totally disconnected. But, it will be interesting to see if all of those batteries last the entire hour. The hour may also pinpoint areas where we could improve our preparedness in the event of a power outage. Where are all the flashlights again?

We’ll be posting here and on Twitter starting at 8:30pm ET on March 28, 2009 for the hour or for as long as our batteries last.

Hope to see you here – and, hope you’ll participate in Earth Hour, too.

written by cybercjh \\ tags: earthhour, voteearth