Earth Hour?

I've been hearing the odd tidbit about Earth Hour (kinda like Earth Day, but only an hour) and I checked out their web site today to learn more. Now I'm confused. And/or angry. Maybe angry is too strong. 

Here's the deal. Tomorrow night (3/28/09) at 8:30 PM (wherever you are), "you can vote earth by switching off your lights for one hour." That's cool. I like the idea. Take the load off the grid for an hour. Blah, blah, blah. Really. I like it. Really.

But here's the thing...  This same site is exhorting us all to:

• Take a photo that night and upload it to Flickr with appropriate Earth Hour tags
  
• Make a video and upload it to the Earth Hour YouTube group
  
• Write a live blog post during the event with appropriate tags
  
• Update on Twitter on the night with appropriate tags
  

Am I missing something? Instead of having a CFL on and reading a book, we're supposed to be on our computers uploading photos and videos, tweeting, and blogging in the dark. NOTE: your computer will be ON. You will be using a powered network, powered servers, and the power of your computer (or cell phone which will have to be re-charged later) to do all of this.

What the hell?

You wanna help the Earth for an hour one night? Turn off your computer, your cell phone, your MP3 player, your TV, and whatever else is sucking down energy. Bundle up. Go sit in a lawn chair in your pack yard (weather permitting) and watch the stars with your loved ones for an hour. Having inclement weather? Bundle up with your loved ones on the sofa and listen to the weather in the dark. Talk about the stars. (Talk about how many more stars you could see if *everyone* turned off the lights for an hour.) Talk about all the birds and other creatures that actually make noise at night, even in the city. If you're listening to the weather, talk about how the rain sounds like drumming on the roof or like frying bacon. Talk about how much quieter it is when it's snowing than when it's not.

Or, just turn off everything but one light and read. If you live alone, read for yourself. If you have a family, pick someone to read aloud to the family.

I was a sophomore in high school when we had the first Earth Day. (Yes, I'm *that* old.) When I was a junior, the first recycling center in the valley opened and I worked as a volunteer almost every weekend for the next two years, rain or shine. (It was only open on weekends.) That center has long since closed, but that's because the cities and trash collection companies take care of it now.

We're definitely making *some* progress toward helping the Earth, but this Earth Hour thing seems rather "broken" to me.