hope you're not planning anything electric tomorrow night, because its Earth Hour!! From 8-9 p.m. cites, towns, restaurants, businesses, and homes across the world are turning off the power- lights, computers, tvs, etc.

when i was living in senegal the power would often cut out for an hour or two in the evening. although it can be really annoying when your in the middle of doing research or writing emails home, these often turned into really enjoyable times to slow down, make some tea and enjoy a nice conversation with family or neighbors. here, in north america, we get to choose whether we participate in cutting the electricity. in addition to kindling conscience for our environmental impact during earth hour, its also an appropriate time to remember that for many people around the world, every hour is "earth hour" in the sense that many live without electricity all the time. i plan to spend my earth hour making like the senegalese- boiling some water on the gas stove, making tea and sharing stories with some good friends. hope you take the chance to slow down, connect and reflect as well!