My Earth Hour Fail

Earth Hour is a truly mind-blowing initiative pioneered by the World Wildlife Fund in which people all around the world are encouraged to turn off their lights for 60 minutes on one predetermined day. You can see from the photo of Toronto in 2008 how much of an impact Earth Day makes. The interactive Earth Hour website let you plug in your zip code and find cool events such as candlelit parties and vegan potlucks, which bring communities together to celebrate environmental activism. Will you help me celebrate Earth Hour? Make a pledge, and you can win an Earth Box from NRG Home Solar!

My Earth Hour Pledge is to do better about turning off lights when I exit a room. Simple, right? I really need your help with this. Every year I put Earth Hour on my calendar, and every year I forget to get the candles.

It’s always the last Saturday in March, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. in whatever your time zone. Last year, people in 7,000 cities and 162 countries participated in Earth Hour, but was I—the self-proclaimed Eco Police (not) in attendance? Nope. I forgot. 2015 won’t be any different: My husband and I are scheduled to be at a wedding with no control over the power switch.

But you don’t have to participate in the actual  Earth Hour event to make a difference. All you have to do is pledge to personally impact climate change in honor of Earth Hour. The goal is to make a pledge that can be applied beyond Earth Hour and incorporated into daily life. So even though I won’t be there to actually turn off all the lights during Earth Hour this year, my Earth Hour Pledge is to do better about turning off lights when I exit a room. Simple, right?

So what’s your Earth Hour pledge going to be? Think about where you can shift a little. Do you drive to work every day? Pledge to take public transportation one day a week. Do you eat meat at every meal? Make it a Meatless Monday. It’s simple, really: Figure out what you want to achieve and do it—for the Earth.

Once you’ve decided on your Earth Hour pledge, check out NRG Home Solar, which is working to create a greener world by making clean sustainable energy easy. Levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have increased dramatically in the past few decades. Solar energy is a renewable resource with the potential to significantly reduce our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Visit NRG Home Solar, then pledge to find out more about solar and get a free quote in under 24 hours. There’s no money down to get started, plus you could win an Earth Box gift! If 1,000 people participate, the company will give $20,000 to Grid Alternatives, an organization that provides solar for low-income families across the United States.

Now there’s really no excuse.

This post was sponsored by NRG Home Solar and meets the standards I’ve established to endorse a brand as “Mommy Greenest Approved.” Click here for more about Editorial Standards.