Turn Out the Lights!

—Taro Ietaka, Director of Conservation and Land Stewardship

The blackout of 2003 seen from a satellite. Ordinarily, cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Toronto and New York City would be brightly lit and easily seen from orbit. (Photo by NOAA)

"That was the best night ever!" was the opinion of my campers at the Lenoir Preserve Summer Program on the morning of Friday August 15, 2003. I am sure the feeling was shared by tens of thousands of other young people from Ontario through Ohio, including most of New York. So what happened the night before? A fireworks show? Harry Potter movie premiere? No, it was the Northeast blackout of 2003 when over 55 million people lost power at 4:00 p.m. and didn't get it restored for a minimum of seven hours.

After the initial shock of computer monitors and televisions going black, after the thousands of complaints of "I'm bored", children did what children have always done: they figured out ways to have fun. They went outside and played ghost in the graveyard, flashlight tag, or made up new games of their own; they played board games or read by the light of the setting sun; they looked at the stars; they had campfires in the backyard and roasted marshmallows with their parents. For some, this was likely a first - a night with no electricity. And they realized that it was possible to enjoy themselves without being plugged in.

Parents don't have to wait for power outages to give their children the same experience. They could be sneaky and just flip off the main switch in the house's circuit box after first hiding cell phones and iPods. There is a better way however, one in which children may willingly participate and for a good cause. The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) created Earth Hour in 2007 in an effort to raise awareness of environmental issues threatening the planet. Since its start in Australia, Earth Hour has spread to 162 countries and millions of people have participated by shutting off their lights for one hour at the designated time. Participants register online at www.earthhour.org so that a count of people supporting the cause can be made and used to influence politicians. This year, lights out is scheduled for March 28 at 8:30 p.m. local time and the issue is climate change. 

Turn Out the Lights!

"That was the best night ever!" was the opinion of my campers at the Lenoir Preserve Summer Program on the morning of Friday August 15, 2003. I am sure the feeling was shared by tens of thousands of other young people from Ontario through Ohio, including most of New York. So what happened the night before? A fireworks show? Harry Potter movie premiere? No, it was the Northeast blackout of 2003 when over 55 million people lost power at 4:00 p.m. and didn't get it restored for a minimum of seven hours.

After the initial shock of computer monitors and televisions going black, after the thousands of complaints of "I'm bored", children did what children have always done: they figured out ways to have fun. They went outside and played ghost in the graveyard, flashlight tag, or made up new games of their own; they played board games or read by the light of the setting sun; they looked at the stars; they had campfires in the backyard and roasted marshmallows with their parents. For some, this was likely a first - a night with no electricity. And they realized that it was possible to enjoy themselves without being plugged in.

Parents don't have to wait for power outages to give their children the same experience. They could be sneaky and just flip off the main switch in the house's circuit box after first hiding cell phones and iPods. There is a better way however, one in which children may willingly participate and for a good cause. The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) created Earth Hour in 2007 in an effort to raise awareness of environmental issues threatening the planet. Since its start in Australia, Earth Hour has spread to 162 countries and millions of people have participated by shutting off their lights for one hour at the designated time. Participants register online at www.earthhour.org so that a count of people supporting the cause can be made and used to influence politicians. This year, lights out is scheduled for March 28 at 8:30 p.m. local time and the issue is climate change. 

The blackout of 2003 seen from a satellite. Ordinarily, cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Toronto and New York City would be brightly lit and easily seen from orbit.(Photo by NOAA)

So, get online and register, break out your candles and board games, then flick the switch on Saturday, March 28. It is for a good cause and could be fun. If your family enjoys the experience then they might even want to try Screen Free Week (www.screenfree.org) from May 4-10.