What better way to celebrate Earth Day than by wearing green? I love this outfit by Haneefah Adam of Muslimah Hanie it’s so au natural after all what could be more earthy than green grass and red tomatoes or red apples? Her blog is full of lovely delicious treats that’re sure to make earth day a lot more fun.

Over the years I’ve had different discussions with friends about Earth Hour which is taking place today from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM local time. The idea is that for a whole hour everyone turns off all their electricity and this is supposed to save energy and be greener for the environment. Needless to say a lot of people disagree with this idea and think of it as nothing more than a social experiment conducted on a large scale to see if people care enough about the environment to do something – anything.

I think it’s cool to see the whole world come together for a common goal, and it looks pretty dramatic when major cities turn off their lights and subsist on candles for an hour, but what about those candles? those flashlights? What impact are they making?

As an African I must say it’s a fun thing to experience. Because when all the lights go out people congregate to one place. As a child I secretly loved it when the lights went out because everyone would stop what they were doing and assemble in one place. If it was really hot and the mosquitoes were not out in full force yet, we would go out to the courtyard in the middle of the house, or we would sit in front of the house and someone would start telling stories; my grandmother, an uncle, a cousin, someone would start and after they were done someone else would continue. So in that regard, Earth Hour would be fun, but for us Africans who’ve been experiencing power loss on a regular basis for most – if not all of our lives, the idea that we would willingly shut down electricity for 1 whole hour when NEPA (or PHCN) had so graciously decided to allow us a few hours of electricity seems frivolous and unimaginable.

So today as the rest of the world shuts of their lights and unites in honor of Earth Hour, they will be in our thoughts, but we hope that the rest of the year, they will remember us in their thoughts because Earth Hour is something we endure, day in day out, with no warning or schedule and has become a part of life.

If you can, make Earth Day meaningful, plant a tree, water a flower, buy organic, support your local farmers and do your part to make the earth a better place for us all.

Happy Earth Day,
xoxo,
Nusrah