If all of Nashville went dark for an hour on a typical Saturday night in March, if people unplugged their instant-on TVs and turned off their water heaters and lowered the thermostat so the heat didn't come on, the city would save 1,600 megawatts of power.

If all of Nashville went dark for an hour on a typical Saturday night in March, if people unplugged their instant-on TVs and turned off their water heaters and lowered the thermostat so the heat didn't come on, the city would save 1,600 megawatts of power. To break that down, the same amount of electricity could power a 100-watt bulb for nearly 2,000 years or light 1,230 homes in Nashville for a month. Click here for an energy resources guide. 

Those are just the kinds of mental comparisons Earth Hour organizers want Nashvillians to make next month, when they ask everyone to turn off their lights for an hour starting at 8:30 p.m. March 28. They want people to think about the coal that won't have to burn to power the city and what it would mean for the Earth if everyone found a little way to reduce their energy consumption all year long. 

Organizers with World Wildlife Fund, the world's largest multinational conservation organization, say they realize their concept is more of an attention-grabber than a long-term solution to global warming. The event, which calls attention to climate change, is more about getting people to think about the environment in the long term. Already, 680 cities in 77 countries have signed up for this year's effort. It's Nashville's first year of participation. 

With his customers lining up for haircuts, all watching movies on the flat-screen televisions and listening to the loud buzz of clippers, Dennis Redmon said he hasn't had time to reflect on energy consumption. The co-owner of the Boulevard Barber and Style Shop promises the lights will be out at his shop and home for Earth Hour, though. 

"When you have so much going on, you don't think about the energy being spent and what it means," he said. "I will shut my lights off and think of ways to save energy, and that does make a difference." 

'A Catalyzing Event'

Last year in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge went dark and residents picked up 6,000 free compact fluorescent bulbs, said Wade Crowfoot, director of climate protection initiatives in the mayor's office there. 

Crowfoot said the city didn't have a final tally on how many participated or what quantitative impact the event had, but it was clear Earth Hour served as a wake-up call.

 "We engaged individuals, families and businesses, and there was widespread participation," he said. 

"It was a good learning experience. It's not just about patting yourself on the back. It's about mobilizing people, to have a catalyzing event to make you think." 

That's what prompts energy experts to support the marketing move started by the World Wildlife Fund in Sydney, Australia, in 2007.

 But they say people can make an instant impact, giving the event tangible results into the future. 

An estimated 36 million people participated in the United States last year. Some of them may have gone on to switch out traditional light bulbs for high-efficiency, compact fluorescent bulbs; bought low-energy appliances; or unplugged the slew of chargers and other passive energy-sucking devices in the average home, said Mark Bernstein, managing director of the University of Southern California's Energy Institute. 

"It's not big behavioral things that will make a large impact," Bernstein said. "One individual's vote may not swing an election, but everybody's vote does. That's how this works. If we are going to continue to educate people on climate change and environmental issues, we need a continuing set of these types of events." 

A Practical Approach

 Sometimes it's a more practical approach that gets people moving in an energy-saving direction, said Ralph Parsons, an electrical engineer and adjunct Tennessee State University professor. 

Seeing an increase or decrease in energy bills, he said, "is stronger motivation than any concern for the environment or anything else."

 That's what got Andrew Kelso thinking about conservation.

 He will be among the throng who turn off their lights in solidarity for Earth Hour, but his behavior changed long ago.

 "I am already watching how I can conserve power in order to maintain a lower power bill each month," said Kelso, an athletic coordinator with the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville. 

"I think as consumers of energy and as a community, we have become more aware of our energy consumption not because of the environment but because of the high rates in the last two months."

 That philosophy saves him some money and, at the same time, he does his part for the planet, he said.

 Article from thetennessean.com