Abby Works, a senior at Iola High School, is coordinating a “Go Dark” celebration Saturday in recognition of Earth Hour. Earth Hour is a world-wide event where for one hour, on one day, one time a year, cities, businesses and individuals are asked to turn off their lights in an effort to promote awareness of the need to conserve the world’s resources.
Saturday’s activities will be on the Iola square and include Maggie Wilson, also an IHS senior, singing and playing her guitar on the bandstand beginning at 7:45 p.m.
KIKS radio will broadcast remote feeds from the celebration between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.
The Take Charge committee will have a booth near the bandstand promoting various energy conservation ideas.
Free glow-in-the-dark T-shirts will be distributed as well as glow sticks.
As 8:30 approaches, a countdown will begin at which time the square will be plunged into darkness and participants will enjoy a “flashlight fitness” walk around the square.
Works believes in “The Power of One” — that when each of us becomes aware of our own power to take responsibility to change our behavior in small ways every day to conserve energy and other resources, we can collectively make a big difference — to ourselves, to our pocketbooks, and to our environment. All we have to do is recognize our power, and use it.
Here are some examples of the difference one small change can make:
* If the thermostats in every house in America were lowered 1 degree during the winter, the nation would save 230 million barrels of oil — that’s the amount of oil being imported into the United States from Iraq each year.
* If everyone in California were to spend one minute less each day in the shower over their lifetimes, they would save 4 trillion gallons of water — the total amount of snow and rain that falls over the entire lower 48 United States in a day.
* One dimmer switch replacing a regular on/off switch in every U.S. house would save the electricity necessary to light 1.2 million homes — that’s every home in the state of Arkansas.
* Replacing just one 500-sheet roll of virgin toilet paper a year with one 500-sheet roll of 100 percent recycled paper in every American household would save 464,000 trees.
* If every American collected 1 gallon on water once a week while waiting for the shower or bath water to get hot (use it to water your plants), the total saved would be 15.8 billion gallons of water a year — enough to fill the reflecting pool at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 2,338 times.
* If every American switched to receiving just one bill as an electronic statement instead of a paper one, the one-time savings would be 217,800,000 sheets — enough to completely blanket the island of Key West in a single layer of paper.
* One soft drink can recycled by each elementary school student in America would save 24.8 million cans. That would be enough aluminum to create 21 Boeing 737 airplanes.
* One hour of using a gas-operated leaf blower produces the same amount of greenhouse gases as a car driving 4,400 miles — that’s a round trip from Salt Lake City to New York City.
Believe in The Power of One! You can make a difference.
Area residents invited to ‘go dark’ Saturday
