Just a brief, final blog before the event to say good luck and thank you to everybody participating in One Hour No Power tomorrow. I hope that you find it a fun and positive event and that some good 'green' resolutions are made, however small, that will have a positive impact on the environment.

Let's make this a lifestyle changing event!

All the best

Andy

I recently recieved this email.......

Dear Sir,

I am writing you on behalf of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament.

ALDE Group has announced that tackling the Climate Change is one of our top priorities. We have followed your initiative of OHNP and would like to support this campaign by using some of our advertisement channels, like a publication in the magazine called E!Sharp.

We also would be happy to see our logo in your supporters page. In order to agree on the details, could you please let me know if the above is possible and how we could proceed?

I look forward to receiving your reply.

Sounded great. They represent 103 MEP's (members of the European Parliament) from 22 countries. At this point I am (naively,) thinking that support means join in. So I replied.........

Many thanks for your email, I would be delighted to have the support of ALDE, particularly as you are representative of so many of the people in countries already supporting OHNP.

If you can let me have a banner/logo I will post it up on our supporters page as soon as possible. I'd also be very happy to write about ALDE supporting OHNP in my blogs.

Any exposure that you can give to OHNP would be fantastic. I have attached a short, current press release, if this would help in any way. Also, please feel free to use any text or images from www.onehournopower.com should you wish.

Let me know if this sounds OK or if you have any different ideas.

Thanks again, all the best,

I posted a banner/link to their website but a few people raised doubts as to whether they were actually going to join in and wondered if they were just doing it to be seen to be 'green'. In the meantime they made and posted their own banner/link to OHNP which failed to even mention 'One Hour No Power' but did link to our website. So I wrote.......

Thanks for posting the ads on your website, however, is there a reason you couldn't use our banners? The ads that you have made don't even say 'one hour no power', our campaign's name. Could this be changed please.

Also, I've had a few messages from supporters who are wary of political groups getting involved. Personally, I like to be as inclusive as possible but to assuage the doubters can I tell them that all 103 MEP's will be taking part on the 1st?

Regards

At this point I received a reply, not from their 'Head of Communications Unit' as before but from their 'Policy Adviser'. She replied thus.....

Dear Andy,

We have posted the add. You are right, its not your logo, but it carries the same idea: "Turn off the power for one hour" is clearly mentioned. On the top of that if you click the poster in our web, it brings you to your website. Equally we are mentioning your website in all our adds. I am afraid we can not change the poster anymore, but it seems to give the clear message and we believe that this is the most important result at the end of the day.

About the MEP-s . Of course I can not guarantee that all the MEPs really turning off their power:-)
but we do believe so. We are also reminding them this initiative in the regular bases.

Concerning the other political forces, I have to say that we are not planning to monopolizes the campaign and I am personally happy if as much people as possible could support and go along to this initiative. After all the planet is just the one :-)

Please let us know if there is any delicate issues we should know.

This 'do as we say and not as we do' attitude, along with the patronising smiley face got me a little cross. So I wrote back.......

I was very disappointed to read your email. All the people on our supporters page have said that they will join in on July 1st. That is the nature of a supporter.

You (ALDE), on the other hand are saying that the MEP's you represent will not be taking part but will be advising others to do so. You even appear to think this is funny by adding a smiley face.

In your first email to me you stated that you had been following OHNP's campaign closely. If you had then you would realise that it is a people-powered event. People are joining in and spreading the word themselves because they like the simple idea and they are concerned. Not because they just want to appear concerned.

OHNP is proud to be people-powered, non-commercial and up until now non-political. Therefore if the MEP's you represent can't join in then they cannot be described as supporters.

OHNP does not wish to be associated with ALDE any longer and I would appreciate you taking down your 'homemade' links to our website.

As for your final comment about 'any delicate issues we should know', I have no idea what this political speak means but it sounds very underhand.

Should the majority of your MEP's join in with OHNP then we will gladly add you back to our supporters, however until then I would rather you didn't 'support' us and mess about with what has been a very simple and people friendly event.

Yours quite crossly

Andy

Since I sent this email they have removed the links to our website but strangely not replied to my last email.

So the doubters of politicians were right and I was wrong. In my defence, had this happened at the start of the OHNP campaign then I probably would have been more suspicious of their intentions, but I have meet so many open, caring and just good people through OHNP that I must have had my scepticalometer switched off.

1 hour with no power.
2 weeks to go.
37 Initial emails sent out to promote OHNP.
200,000+ website hits so far.
27,485 freezers being defrosted on July 1st at noon.*
102 countries from which people have viewed our website.
5 continents on which people are joining in.
1 person needed to help combat climate change - you.


The hour is not designed as a power-saving exercise but rather as an opportunity to switch off from the busy world around us and think about changes that we can make in our everyday lives to lessen our impact on the planet.

Please keep passing on the message of OHNP and thank you for your continued support.

Andy

*OK, I guessed at this number, but all of the others are true.

Loads of you have been spreading the word about One Hour No Power on Facebook, MySpace, through your blogs and forums, and also by taking it offline into your colleges and workplaces. I've tried, where possible, to say thanks but I'm pretty disorganised and have probably overlooked some people. So, this is just to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who is supporting OHNP.

Thanks to you, OHNP has spread to all five continents, often popping up in the most unlikely of places. Only today I discovered that OHNP is a quiz question on a Portuguese Aquarium's website.

Please keep up this AMAZING work over the final two weeks. Remind the people that you've already told, tell new people about OHNP and then tell them all to PASS IT ON!

Thanks a million!

As One Hour No Power has spread around the world, so some of our supporters have very kindly translated the event email into their own languages, to help spread the word in their own countries. The translations can be accessed from our homepage by clicking any of the flags. I have had a few messages from people who are having trouble identifying the flags, so here are the countries represented by the flags, as they appear from left to right.

Bulgaria, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden.

A big 'thank you' to all of the people who took the time to translate the email text and if there are any more people willing to translate the event email then I would be more than happy to add them to the website.

I found this blog about OHNP yesterday by B.L. Ochman (a US based blogger, social media strategy consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and sought-after corporate speaker) and thought I'd share it with you. The full article can be found Here


"In a prime example of viral marketing, a socially responsible idea is making its way around the globe via the Internet, using free social media tools that are available for the taking.

One Hour No Power asks that on Sunday, July 1, 2007, for just one hour, everyone turn off all non-essential power and use that hour to demonstrate our concerns about global warming and think about how to lower our carbon footprints. (Had you heard that phrase a year ago?)

One Hour No Power is not sponsored by a huge not-for-profit, do-good organization or a major corporation. It's the brainchild of a stay-at-home dad named Andy, (no last name on his bio or contact info) who started his campaign about a month ago.

He started a website ,a MySpace page, a You Tube video and a blog.

One Hour No Power, is fast gaining, umm, steam. More than 2500 people have signed up in Facebook, MySpace now has about 400 friends, and people in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Ukraine, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Dubai, India, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand have confirmed that they are joining.

The most fascinating thing about it is that One Hour No Power is one man's idea. It's already got lots of supporters who have networks of their own, and there clearly are some great sponsorship and tie-in opportunities available. By time July 1 rolls around, I am willing to bet that at least a million people will participate."

A quick progress report.

Facebook is flying at the moment, with over 2,500 people signed up in nine One Hour No Power groups. This website, as you may have discovered has been kindly translated into Polish and is being promoted heavily there. A quick Google has found that OHNP has popped up on forums all over the world in English and also in Estonia and Portugal translated. MySpace now has around 300 'friends' with many taking the campaign offline and into their schools and workplaces.

Here's a list of countries where people have confirmed that they will be joining in:-
The US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Ukraine, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Dubai, India, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

There may well be more but a people-powered event like this is hard to keeps tabs on!

Thanks a million for the truly amazing support that One Hour No Power has received so far and please keep spreading the word.

Unfortunately, I've had to turn the comment facility off for a while because we were getting bombarded with ads for cars, prescription drugs and porn. All a bit boring really, but hopefully we can re-open the comments soon. In the meantime if you do have a comment then please email it to me and I'll pop in on the next blog!

Facebook.com is really starting to get behind us with 4 or 5 groups called One Hour No Power comprising of over 700 people! A big thank you to the people behind the groups for spreading the word so effectively.

More updates soon, but right now I have a chronic case of man-flu and staring at a screen is not helping.

More soon..........Andy

Another busy week has passed with more people in more countries pledging their support for One Hour No Power. We now have people participating in Poland, Canada, Iceland and Dubai to add to our already cosmopolitan list of participants around the world. I also had a couple of BBC local radio interviews here in the UK with more scheduled this week, helping to spread the word domestically as well.

Whilst the overall response for OHNP has been fantastically supportive I have seen one or two negative comments, usually posted anonymously on forums, saying that one hour without power will do nothing to reduce emissions. I'd just like to reiterate that One Hour No Power isn't intended as a power saving exercise but as a symbolic hour in which to switch off from the modern world and look at our everyday lives, to see how we can make some long-term changes that will help our planet.


To paraphrase the famous Edmund Burke quotation......

All that is necessary for global warming to reach tipping point is for good men and women to do nothing.

I recieved this email today from India and thought it would be a good idea to share it with you.


"Dear Someone, idnamed andy @onehournopower.com,

I sincerely believe that your effort is a genuine one and not the one of those things simply called pranks.

On a serious note you may be accused (if it is the right word) of "Sabotage" - How, read on.

You perfectly well realize the consequences, don't you.

1.All power generating stations in your community, state, and country would come to a stand still!!!
2.There will a total collapse of power grid, even if 30-40 percent people participate in this exercise.
3.It will take minimum anything between 2-5 hours to restore power to the grid, depending upon size and modernity of the system in use.
4.There may be some major loss of community equipment in the process, making the restoration work that much more difficult and delayed.

If your goals are to make people aware of the impending dangers of Global warming or any such "Noble Causes", please find some constructive methods and that is a very difficult task. but please, don't choose the easy path.

Are you sure you want to do this?

Will you be as honest in this endeavor to make people aware of the pitfall of the onehournopower exercise ?

Wishing you success and "Best of Efforts".

Below is my reply:-

Thanks for your concerns. I respect your concerns and would like to say that at the moment the number of people worldwide taking part in onehournopower I estimate to be about 1000 - which obviously won't effect anyone. If, for one moment, I thought that 30-40% of any nation would take part in One Hour No Power then I would obviously advise the hour to be spread throughout the day.

As a hopefully, responsible person I have been in contact with the National Grid here in the UK to check out the implications of a power down. I was told that if the numbers expected to participate reach 10,000,000 in the UK, then to give them a ring back. We both agreed that this is extremely unlikely.

He told me that in Sydney recently they had an hour without lights (the biggest user of domestic power apparently and unlikely to switched on at midday), where 2,000,000 people took part reducing energy consumption by 10.2%, all without any ill effects to their grid. A similar powerless hour has also already been held in London with more planned I am told.

I'm more than happy to post the content of your email (without your details, of course) on my blog so that people can read your opinion, discuss and if necessary choose an alternative hour to use no power on July 1st, to ensure there are no surges of power.

I hope that this allays some of the fears you may have. It's also good that you raise this issue as the situation may be different in different countries.

All the best

Andy


Let me know what you think. One point that I didn't make, was that I don't envisage everybody taking part to breathe a huge sigh of relief at 1.01pm and switch every appliance in the house on.

Also, I'd like to make it clear that One Hour No Power was never intended as a power saving exercise but rather as a symbolic hour in which to switch off from the modern world and look at our everyday lives, to see if we could make any long-term carbon reductions.

People are asking for suggestions on what they should do with their hour without power. Here are a few ideas of mine and yours to get you going. Add your own ideas with a comment, but please, keep it clean.

Spend some quality time with family and friends.

Hold a sponsored event for your favourite environmental group.

Take to the roads on your bike, board, blades.

Hug a tree (while stocks last).

Hug a cynic (there'll be no shortage of these).

Write down your personal green action plan for the coming year.

Find a quiet spot and savour the peace.

Another quick update to tell you that One Hour No Power is beginning to become the people-powered event it was meant to be.

At last count four people had started there own 'one hour no power' groups at Facebook.com (which about 100 people have signed up to so far) and it has also started to appear on several blogs and forums around the web. Tap "one hour no power" into your favourite search engine to see how far word is spreading.

And of course many of you are telling others about it offline, through your schools, workplaces and socially, which is fantastic.

This is going on across the globe, in Australia, India, coast to coast in the US, as well as in the UK and right across Europe.

Thanks a million for all of your support so far and let's keep this snowball rolling!

I have to put my hand up and say that I've been neglecting this blog for the last week in favour of spreading the word about OHNP through MySpace. Things have gone really well there and I'm up to 80 'friends' but more importantly I've been getting pledges of support from right across the world. A lot from all parts of the US, the UK, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and India! It's all a bit overwhelming but good at the same time.

This week I’ll be trying to generate some interest through more traditional routes like newspapers, radio and TV (mostly UK local) as well as trying to find other online communities. I’ll let you know how I get on next week.

In the meantime, if you find yourself at a loose end, why not print off a copy of the event email and leaflet a few people on your street? Just a thought.

Thanks again for all of the fantastic support and keep spreading the word.

Andy

www.myspace.com/onehournopower

Just a quick update to say that I now have a page on www.myspace.com at the address in the title. Again it took me a little while to get it up and running but I think I'm getting a little better at this technology stuff! But only a little.
Already I have five friends (it's a bit like being back in primary school), ranging from a buddhist monastry in Thailand,a conceptual artist in London and an enviromental group in Hawaii. Hopefully when I get some more time I can spread the word there a little further.
Talking of time, One Hour No Power seems to be taking on a dual life. Not only as an event about climate change but also as an event about the pace of modern life. A few people have mentioned how they are looking forward to joining in just for the personal peace, without the intrusions of the tv, phone and (yes, ironically) the PC.
I'll write more when I find a bit more of that precious time stuff. Don't forget to check out www.myspace.com/onehournopower and keep spreading the word. Thanks for all the support, Andy.

Since emailing friends and relatives on Friday to get the ball rolling (and asking them to do the same), I've had a couple of emails of support back as well as a comment added to the first blog, which is all very encouraging.

Gail's comment asked if this was a US based event and the answer to that is yes. I'm in the UK but anyone can join in, at midday, wherever they are on July 1st. I've also had emails from some (disgruntled) friends in New Zealand and Australia who point out that July 1st is the middle of their winter and not so easy to do. All I can say is that maybe we can make it a twice-yearly event if there is the interest or just adjust what you do in the hour to suit the climate - how about throwing a 'three coat party'? If anyone is reading this in the southern hemisphere then I'm sure you've got some better suggestions to add.

Since starting OHNP I've been looking at various environmental websites and for those in the UK can highly recommend the http://www.icount.org.uk website. They have heaps of easy practical steps that you can take to reduce your own energy usage, as well as access to petitions aimed at trying to influence government policy.

Finally, I have also just found out on Yahoo, that today is Earth Day! Apparently it's been going since 1971 but I guess maybe it’s bigger in the States. Their website is www.earthday.net , which again has loads of motivational tips and ideas.

Please help to spread the word about One Hour No Power to friends, family and neighbours and keep letting me know your thoughts by adding a comment or emailing me at andy@onehournopower.com. Thanks for popping by, Andy.