Earth Hour.

At 8.30-9.30 pm local time (whatever your local time is) switch off your lights and all other electrical appliances. Unless you work in a hospital, in which case it is probably best to leave most things on. All this switching off is in aid of Earth Hour. This is to raise awareness of the ridiculous damage we are doing to our own and only planet by guzzling electricity like I presume Eric Pickles guzzles down pies. Well actually it isn't just to raise awareness of our electricity consumption. Don't forget about massive deforestation, land pollution, air pollution and water pollution.

You might just think that this isn't that important and we'll be fine but really, we need to do something. Just stand on a motorway bridge, or highway bridge if you're American, or Autobahn bridge if you're German (see, I am catering for my viewers overseas) and just look at the endless procession of traffic. It is never ending and it is going on all over the world, all of the time. Imagine you're on the motorway/highway/autobahn at night. You'll drive past thousands of streetlights, houselights and headlights. In all of these houses are other electrical appliances using up electricity, almost all of the time. You've probably seen it, someone using a bicycle to power one light bulb. Its isn't easy to keep it lit. Now imagine keeping your whole house powered for a day. Now imagine that multiplied by a lifetime. Now imagine that multiplied by billions of lifetimes. Now tell me that we're all going to be fine.

All of this is assuming that we aren't already past the tipping point and we're not doomed anyway. Oh and I am also aware of the irony that I'm using an electronic device to write this, but it is okay, I'm off to plant a tree.

http://www.earthhour.org/