Earth Day is quickly approaching, and people around the globe are getting ready to celebrate in different ways. There are people organizing recycling and clean up efforts for their city, and others will use the day to get the word out about living sustainably. There are so many events out there to celebrate Earth Day, and its hard to know what to do. Here is one event happening before Earth Day to get your gears turning that will be simple, easy, and can be done all over the world: Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is an event taking place before, which is Saturday March 28th. The event is incredibly easy. All you do for Earth Hour is turn off your lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 PM. The event is global, so Earth Hour will be different in each time zone.  Whenever 8:30 PM starts where you live, that's when you turn your lights out. You can go so far as to turn off all electricity during the hour, but the main goal of the campaign is just the lights.

This event is being promoted by a number of venues, from Esurance (the car insurance company that promotes a number of green programs) to the World Wildlife Fund. There is a website for people in the United States that allows you to pledge to turn off your lights during that hour. The website also has a section for kids, so you can explain what Earth Hour is and get the whole family involved and excited. Earth Hour US even has a Twitter feed that you can follow with informative links.

In years prior, there were global events where people were encouraged to turn off their lights at the same time for one minute. This was great in theory, but a minute is not enough. Earth Hour is different, since the time the lights are off is much longer, which means a more noticeable difference in energy uses.

So what can you do during that hour with no lights? Light candles and share stories with your family and friends, or have a romantic dinner. If you really want to dedicate yourself, turn off your lights for the hour before or after Earth Hour, or even leave them off for the whole day.

Get your friends involved, and spread the word about Earth Hour.  Together we can make a statement about the reckless energy consumption going on around the planet, and that we demand a change.