12 days to go

Unlike in San Francisco and its team and perhaps in LA, too, we in Santa Barbara started not very long ago, about a week ago, I think, although at this point it is very hard to tell, so weary I am after days before the computer screen.

It's such a simple straightforward idea, really, turn off non-essential lights for one hour! Why does one have any non-essential lights on, anyway? Or is that my New England childhood speaking? We had no money when I was growing up, and still so many years later, I can hear, "turn out the light when you leave the room! Do you think we're made of money?"

And then it became second nature, as it is for a friend who grew up in wartime London, while, for her younger sister, lights are made to be on. Darkness is to be banished.

But that's not what this is all about, not about saving money, although that may be the carrot to save energy. We're inviting an energy saving awareness, planting and urging watering the seeds we all have to be conscious, to think of our footprints, to recognize the changes we humans cause.

I hope others will join in here and say why they're participating. For me, it's that hummingbird parable told by Wangari Maathai posted on our website: one does, we do what we can, as best we can with what we have, sprinkling our drops of water on the raging forest fires of needs.

Pleased to get an e-mail just now from Phyllis, the initiator of this campaign, quoting a friend: "Every friend I've told about Lights Out already knows!" Hurrah! but now to get them all to sign up on the supporters' list. How proud I am to live in a city where the city council people, 6 of the 7, all express strong support and are brave enough to say so, especially after the recent thrashing - and so does this area's County supervisor, Salud Carbajal - and so has our Congressional representative, Lois Capps.

Wow!