Earth Hour is on hand! 3 and a half hours away in fact. In the spirit of going green, here are some things you can do for Earth Hour today.

If you’re intending to prune your trees, plants or even mow your lawn this Saturday (why you would do that on a Saturday I have no idea), gorgeous Miss Earth Venezuela, Jessica Barboza, has a tip for you. Not only is this girl a looker, she is also smart. Jessica is a lawyer and was one to look out for during the entire Miss Earth pageant. I remember seeing her for the first time and wondering how such a beauty could exist. She reminded me of Victoria Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio! But this beauty has an important green message to spread, and I’m sure she’ll do it well as 2nd Runner up of the Miss Earth pageant. Here’s her green tip from the Miss Earth calendar.

Instead of bagging cut grass, they can be left on the lawn to rot. These will decompose and contribute to soil enrichment.

We can do the same for our plants. If leaves dry up and fall off their branches, instead of throwing them away, sweep them up and put them back in the pot as fertiliser! You save money, save your plants and save Mother Earth.

During Earth Hour today, if you’re afraid of not knowing what you can do to entertain yourself, here are some fun things you can do while the lights are out and STILL reduce your carbon footprint!

1. Have a green dance party!
In the blackout hour today, call a few friends over to your place, get them all dressed in green, turn on the radio, pop in a feel-good CD and just dance your night away in the dark! One track I would recommend is Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Such a classic feel-good song! While you’re at it, use a fan instead of the air-conditioner because air-conditioners are not environmentally friendly. Or just have your party outdoors!

2. Tell ghost stories in the dark
Turn off your lights, draw the blinds and curtains, light a solitary candle and huddle round in a room with lotsa pillows. Start by sharing your spooky stories and soon enough you find time has gone by in an instant! Even better if you could have your story-telling in the dark forest with tall looming trees in the background. Sets the ambiance don’t you think?

3. Go out for a romantic walk by the beach or in a park.
Air conditioners produce a LOT of CO2, more specifically 3605kg of it. But spending your night outside in the fresh air? 0kg. So why not take your loved ones out to the East Coast Park for a leisurely stroll and enjoy the beautiful sea breeze. You can also sit in one of our lovely parks and have a quiet tête-à-tête.

4. Star light, star bright.
Because of light pollution, it’s generally quite hard to star-gaze in our little island. But because tonight, we’ll have our lights off during 8.30pm to 9.30pm. Take this time to and act out the scene from Twilight. Go to a meadow, lie down and sparkle, watch the stars. No sunlight for you to sparkle in though. The stars, however, will twinkle in the dark night sky because it’s their time to shine.

5. Take a cold shower.
A hot shower will produce 110kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) but a cold one produces NONE at all! Some energy is used to deliver the water to the house but you can always try to reduce it by having two people in the shower. Hahaha!

Any other ideas for something fun you can do during Earth Hour in the dark?