In a Canada-wide and international initiative to raise awareness about environmental issues, WWF (not the wrestling federation) is organizing the fourth annual Earth Hour, in which they encourage people from around the world to turn off non-essential lights and appliances for one hour -- starting at 8:30pm tonight -- in support of their consciousness-raising mission. Sure, the Habs' game starts at 7, but there's more going on here than just flipping a few switches.

Earth Hour 2010: Montreal edition from Margot En on Vimeo.

Some nay-sayers might argue that Earth Hour is a useless endeavour. There's the claim that it actually takes up more energy to turn a light off and on than to just keep it on (I'll let you electrical engineers battle that one out). Other people say that it doesn't make a difference whether or not they turn off their one energy-saving-13W-120V-Electric-Safety-Authority-of-Canada-approved light bulb for one hour. News flash, opponents: it has nothing to do with actual energy saving.

As my favourite Canadian celebrity and sexiest septuagenarian (Hi David!) David Suzuki has said time and time again, there's something seriously wrong with how we're treating the planet, and this evident degradation of our world needs to be addressed on all levels. It's events like Earth Hour that act as a collective demonstration of this concern. By turning off a light or shutting down your computer, you're saying, "Yeah, this is whack. I want my grandkids to be able to go on a hike or catch a less-than-three-eyed fish on a summer camping trip." (Note to animal rights folks: I am theoretically against fishing for sport). Over 10 million Canadian adults last year participated -- join in the fun!

And when you turn your computer back on, check out how you can make small changes in your everyday life with David Suzuki's Nature Challenge.

Our cross atop Mont Royal was extinguished for the full hour:
Before

After

Earth Hour graphic taken from the WWF Earth Hour website.