Earth Hour 2024

Pin It

My 16th Earth Hour finds me in Seoul, as I had come up a couple of days earlier before the festivities that will take place next week. After a very long lunch today I had retired to my hotel room, and when the time came I decided to walk around the big block that is COEX and see if anyone around here cared about Earth Hour.

COEX has a ton of large, bright LED screens that blast out advertising 24-7, and there's one just across from my hotel room. Like all the others on both sides around the block, the screens never darkened.

Earth Hour 2023

Pin It

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Diary of a Growing Boy (@growing_boy)

I'm observing Earth Hour for the 15th consecutive year, and tonight I found myself in Singapore, which happens to be hosting a summit for the event. As usual I wanted to be under the stars and have the lights off in my room, and I figured going to the Esplanade would be a pretty good idea. I would be able to see the downtown skyscrapers go dark, and as it happened people from the World Wildlife Fund were hosting an event at the Esplanade Outdoor Stage.

This was the first time I get to see downtown Singapore looking so dark at night, although not everyone got the memo to switch off. I overheard some WWF officials near me talking about getting SingTel and The Fullerton Hotel on board, although One Raffles Place, WeWork, and The Sail at Marina Bay also kept some of their lights and signage lit.

Earth Hour 2022

Pin It

Tonight was my 14th year commemorating Earth Hour, and my plans changed at the last minute as I scrambled to get into position.  It had drizzled earlier this evening so I had planned to stay at home with the lights and aircon off, just setting my camera up on our balcony. But as I thought the rain had stopped, I quickly grabbed my gear and rushed over to East Coast Park Precint, which is thankfully around 10 minutes away on foot.

I set up the camera on the waterfront at the near corner, trying to capture sweeping views of both sides of Victoria Harbour from Wanchai to Tsim Sha Tsui East. My tripod would stay in this spot for the next hour and a half.

Earth Hour 2021: 13th year

Pin It

This was the first year in quite a few where we are spending Earth Hour without our beloved asshole.  We've brought him out to the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui a couple of times, where he was pretty popular with the ladies, and last year we looked longingly at DaRC as we grilled our steak at home.  That would be his last Earth Hour on earth.

The Covid-19 pandemic is still with us, so we decided against crossing the harbor for the annual observation.  The Quarry Bay Promenade Pet Garden isn't far from us, and we decided we'd take CC out for a stroll under the stars.

As it was a nice evening, there was a good amount of traffic going through the park, with dogs and their owners, joggers, and just ordinary folks out for a stroll.

Earth Hour 2020: staying in

Pin It

I have been observing Earth Hour since 2009, and other than that first year when I was a guest at a friend's home for dinner, and turning out the lights in my apartment in New Taipei City in 2012, I've been outdoors during the remaining years - often watching the lights being turned off in Victoria Harbour.

Given the current Covid-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing, we decided to stay home this year.  We were, in fact, scheduled to be in Tokyo this weekend... but of course that went out the window weeks ago.  We haven't seen DaRC and Ro Ro for 2 weeks so we invited them over for a simple dinner - as long as they were willing to spend part of the evening in the dark.

Hello Kitty started us off with some steamed flower crabs from the wet market next door, as well as some whiskered velvet shrimps (赤米蝦) in a cocotte with some sake.  We also had some Brussels sprouts with shallots.

Earth Hour 2019

Pin It

It's Earth Hour again tonight, so Hello Kitty and I once again left our apartment and headed to the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui.  This year we decided to take our little asshole Kuma with us, as he enjoyed the experience a few years ago.

But I did something stupid.  While every year I make it a point to be outdoors so that my apartment or hotel room has its lights turned off, I actually left one little light on when I left tonight.  And as it was very humid I also left one of our aircon units on.  TOTAL FAIL...

We decided to go to the upper level of the Kowloon Public Pier so that I could get a better view of Victoria Harbour.  I set my camera on a tripod, and clipped my phone on top of my camera.  I made the mistake of using my phone to film a timelapse video, and what I should have done was to film the timelapse with my Sony camera while going live on Facebook with my phone.  Oh well, next year.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Diary of a Growing Boy (@growing_boy) on Mar 30, 2019 at 9:38am PDT

Earth Hour 2018 - my 10th year

Pin It

It's Earth Hour again, and once again Hello Kitty and I planned on participating in this global effort to raise awareness about doing something to help save our planet.  After attending a cocktail event at La Rambla in IFC, I met up with Hello Kitty and rode the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour to the waterfront.



One by one, the commercial office buildings and hotels turned off their main lights and signage. Some were slower than others, and the Hong Kong Observation Wheel next to the Central Piers finally went dark about 10 minutes after Earth Hour started.

Earth Hour 2017

Pin It

It's late March, and that means Earth Hour is once again upon us.  Tonight is my 9th year taking part in this global event.  I know the event is only 1 hour in duration and is largely symbolic, but I believe it sends an important message, and is a reminder to everyone that we need to do what we can to be kind to the earth, as it is our only home.

Our early dinner started late, which wasn't a surprise given our company.  Thankfully dinner was relatively simple and we finished quickly, so Hello Kitty and I rushed out of the Sheraton and crossed the street to the harbor front.

In a matter of a couple of minutes, the normally bright and vibrant Victoria Harbour went dark.  Half an hour before, one of Hong Kong's most well-known tourist attractions - A Festival of Lights - had been cancelled to mark Earth Hour.  Gone were the colorful flashing lights prancing around skyscrapers, and giant neon and LED billboards went napping.

Every year, someone inevitably fails to get the memo and leave their lights on.  Last year it was the People's Liberation Army, who kept their lights on the whole time.  They finally got the memo this year and went dark.  A couple of buildings were a little behind - some because of their internal clocks were slow, but pretty much everyone except for a couple of buildings around Times Square got with the program right on the dot.  And then even these guys got around to it eventually.

A post shared by Diary of a Growing Boy (@growing_boy) on Mar 25, 2017 at 8:43am PDT

Even when looking at the skyline during Earth Hour, it's not hard to see that there is still a certain amount of light pollution - just look at the haze in the sky.  That's pretty scary if you think about it.

It was pretty chilly out tonight and we were both underdressed thanks to the warm temperature during the day.  So we left a few minutes early and didn't wait for the lights to come back on, although a couple of buildings decided that turning out the lights for half an hour was good enough for them.

I overheard a few tourists talking amongst themselves, and even they realized that the lights were out because of Earth Hour.  People are becoming more aware of this event - which is now in its 10th edition.  That's a very good thing, especially in the age of Trump.

Earth Hour 2016: three dog night

Pin It

Earth Hour was celebrated for the 10th year tonight, and I participated for the eighth year.  As we did last year, Hello Kitty and I went out to the Kowloon Public Pier next to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.  However, this year we also took Kuma out with us, and arrived just before 8:30 p.m.  Some of the buildings on the Hong Kong side across Victoria Harbour had already gone dark.

One by one, most of the major buildings visible on the waterfront turned off their exterior lighting, and the stretch from Sheung Wan to Fortress Hill was uncharacteristically dark.

Last year's offender HSBC got the message this year, and turned off all their lights - including that huge LED panel - at their HSBC Main Building early this year.  The China Resources Building also turned off the lights at the top of their building.  Most people went along with the effort, and even slow pokes like Kweichow Moutai (贵州茅台) managed to turn off their neon sigh by 8:40 p.m.

Earth Hour 2015

Pin It

It's that time of the year again, and for the seventh year I participated in Earth Hour.  While I stayed away from Victoria Harbor last year and simply jogged under the stars, this year I decided to go back and watch the harbor go dark.

I wanted to make sure that I was out in the open before 8:30 p.m., and after a quick bite, Hello Kitty and I quickly left Harbour City and walked towards the harbor front.  By the time we reached the water, most of the major commercial buildings on the Hong Kong side that I could see had gone dark.

Earth Hour 2014

Pin It

For the sixth year in a row, I participated in Earth Hour.  I'd already ranted enough about Earth Hour and the message behind it last year, and argued why it is important to all of us humans to conserve energy, so I'm not going to repeat it.  I will just say how pleased I am to see more and more of the world being aware of this and that more people are participating.  This one hour alone may not save a whole lot of energy, but it is symbolically important because it brings about awareness.

This past year I had been good in terms of energy-saving.  Unfortunately I had not been so good about reducing waste.  While I continue to shy away from buying and consuming drinks in plastic bottles and containers, I had, in fact, increased waste generation somewhat thanks to my diet program.  This is being remedied.

But nowadays I always carry my environmental-friendly shopping bag (with a picture of the young Flocke) wherever I go, and have cut down bag wastage massively.  I don't always carry my own water bottle, but I do have a pair of plastic chopsticks in every bag that I own and carry around.

Earth Hour and the message behind it

Pin It

Tonight the world celebrated the annual Earth Hour, an hour-long period during which many people and organizations turned out the lights around the world.  I've been taking part annually since 2009, and there was never ever any question that I would make sure that my schedule doesn't conflict with this important event.

A few days ago I came across this piece where someone wrote about how Earth Hour was all wrong and "a waste of time".  This bozo clearly doesn't get it.  No one is advocating going back to the Middle Ages and not use electricity.  He's exactly the type of guy who is helping to ensure that we continue to ruin our environment for generations to come.  Apparently someone else also thinks this guy's a bit of a tool...

No, Earth Hour isn't about how much electricity you can save in an hour.  It's true that the energy we save by turning out a few lights for just one hour out of an entire year isn't all that significant.  The real importance of this event is that we are raising awareness around the world.  More people are aware that we need to do something about our environment, and we need to try to remember that message as we go about our lives on a daily basis.

Earth Hour 2011

Pin It

For the third year in a row, I participated in Earth Hour and turned off the lights.  I was glad to see that some of my other friends were also participating, and raising awareness about saving energy.

My apartment had been dark since late afternoon, and I decided to go for a quick meal at a neighborhood restaurant before the appointed time.  By 8:30pm I was out of the restaurant and out in the streets.  I chose to spend the next hour strolling around my neighborhood, under the stars as some would say.  OK, so I didn't exactly see any stars... and there was street light almost everywhere I went, but you get the drift.

I think I've been pretty good last year about conserving energy, and doing my best to tweak my lifestyle to a more sustainable one.  One can always do more, and I will strive to do more in the coming year.

Earth Hour 2010

Pin It

Tonight the world got together and took part in Earth Hour, where each time zone made an effort to conserve energy by turning out the lights for an hour, creating an interesting effect of a dark band moving across the earth.

A year ago I participated in Earth Hour for the first time.  I was invited to a friend's house for dinner, and I asked her if we could turn off the lights for an hour.  She was kind enough to agree, and we finished dinner by candlelight.  I felt pretty good about that.

This year I did my best to observe Earth Hour while in Taipei.  I stayed out of my hotel room to make sure it stayed dark.  I also chose not to dine in any restaurants, so we ended up going from stall to stall in the night market on the Tonghua and Linjiang Streets (通化街／臨江街).  While I didn't exactly dine by candlelight like last year, I did my best to minimize my usage of electricity.

I look forward to Earth Hour next year.  Until then, I'll consciously cut down my electricity consumption - as I have been trying to do.