Four (or Five!) Reasons Why

…Earth Hour Is Legit And Significant

1. While Earth Hour may have only lasted 60 minutes, it was a rare moment where people united in a common cause with little controversy attached. Conservation, even at its noblest, is a private matter as it’s not the type of thing one would tend to talk or brag about. The event allowed for the recognition that a community, large or small, can pull together to effect change in a productive way.

2. Earth Hour was a global event that united and aligned communities around the world. It also saw cooperation between corporations and individuals. It may be sad to say, but both of these things occur far too infrequently.

3. Regardless of your views on climate change or motivation to participate, Earth Hour resulted in a tangible decline in energy consumption around the world. Sydney saw a reduction of 8.4% over the hour when compared to a typical Saturday night, while on the other side of the planet, Toronto’s consumption fell 8.7%. Unlike the Live Earth concerts whose environmental mission was paradoxical to its actual impact, Earth Hour was a wholly beneficial event.

4. An hour of participation, accomplished by simply flicking a few light switches, educates us all that something can be done. In the grand scheme of things, the event’s mission is easy to comprehend, easy to explain, easy to get others to participate and easy to accomplish. (What argument could you possibly have against it?) But the effect and results are significant. Hopefully, it also teaches (reminds) us to turn out the lights after you leave room or turn off the air conditioning when nobody is home or switch off your computer before you go to bed.

5. Earth Hour may have only lasted a short period of time, but maybe, just maybe it signified a small step towards sustainable living. As Neil Armstrong once said, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” (Do you think anyone imagined putting a man on the moon back then?)

Check out the before and after pictures in Toronto, Chicago and Sydney.

Did you learn anything from Earth Hour?

For more on Earth Hour

More: While most people rejoiced in Earth Hour, the National Post’s Peter Foster described it as a “profoundly depressing experience” and an example of “eco-hysteria”. Foster, by the way, doesn’t really believe in the concept of global warming either….or probably Santa Claus.

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….Morning Exercise is Good for You

1. It’s a great way to start your day. Nothing like getting the body moving, the blood flowing and the sweat oozing to make you feel alive - unless, of course, your definition of alive is staying in bed for another hour as opposed, for example, to waking up at 6 a.m. to play hockey or go for a run. Check out LifeScript for its five top morning exercise benefits.

2. Researchers believe morning exercise can help you sleep better because it may help to set a person’s circadian rhythms (body clock) to be awake during the day and asleep at night. Exercising at night may create the pattern that the body is too awake in the evening.

3. While it’s probably not a good idea to think about exercise as a chore or work, doing it in the morning does get it out of the way AND avoids the temptation to skip it after work if you get an invitation to go out for dinner, a drink or a movie.

4. By getting some exercise first-thing, you absolutely have the right to treat yourself to something sweet during the day without one bit of guilt.

For tips on how to motivating yourself to exercise in the morning, check out Hunger Away, which suggests things such as getting your clothes and gym bag ready the night before, and setting your clock nine - not 10 or 8 - minutes ahead.

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…Cell Phones Have Changed Society Forever

1. The cell phone has replaced the watch as our modern-day timepiece. One could argue that the watch is becoming obsolete Yes, there are some that like to sport a bit of bling and show off with a snazzy wristwatch, but flashing your cell phone is equally (if not more) likely to grab someone’s attention. Take a look around. How many people do you see wearing watches? Think of how that’s changes over the last few years. Maybe the cell phone as a timepiece is the first, and only truly successful, sign of convergence. Poor Switzerland…

2. Cell phones are increasingly replacig landlines as the primary option for home communication. More than a few people have asked, “What’s the point of having multiple lines? What exactly am I paying for?” Fair questions. This is especially true in the U.S., where highly competitive operators have resulted in highly competitive cellular plans. Having only a cell is often a much cheaper option in the long-run.

3. When was the last time you use a payphone? Enough said.

4. The development of cellular technology has opened up a huge source of revenue for governments around the world as billions have been raised for public coffers over the past couple of decades through the auction of spectrum. Granted, mobile phone providers have made a ton of money on the back of those fees, which in a way makes having a cell phone a perverse form of taxation in a way.

5. Cell phones have inspired an incredible amount of R&D, innovation and technological advancement. Because of the cell phone, we have everything on the go. We are connected all the time, 24/7. We can be reached at a moment’s notice, unless you declare wireless bankruptcy. And apparently nearly 162 million navigation-ready phones were manufactured in 2007, more than seven times the number of similar devices used in cars and non-phone gadgets. (Guess there’s no excuse of getting lost any more. Men, you have been warned.) And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

FYI - the cell phone was invented in 1973 by Motorola’s Dr. Martin Cooper, originally weighed 2.5 pounds, had 35 minutes of talking time and needed 10 hours to charge. What a difference a few decades makes!

How has the cell phone transformed you?

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….Bowling Is A Sport

1. It requires a certain degree of strength. A 10-pin bowling ball can weigh as much as 16 pounds. Given you have to pick up a bowling ball and throw it as many as 20 times during the course of a game - assuming you don’t get any strikes - it can potentially make for a strenuous workout. In fact, according to bodybuilding.com, you can burn up to 214 calories during a one-hour bowling session. You bowl four or five times a week, and we’re talking about 800 to 1,000 calories melting off your body.

2. There’s a scoring system, which makes it easy to determine winners and losers. Unlike other non-sports, there’s no judges grading your technique, footwork, speed of the ball, finish, etc. For more on how to keep score in bowling, click here.

3. An essential part of any sport is making sure you have the right equipment. In bowling, there’s a wide variety of bowling balls, gloves, shoes and bags that could make the difference between winning and losing.

4. Professional bowling is a relatively easy sport to relate to because the bowlers are just regular guys and gals - aside from some pretty cool bowling shirts. One of the best bowlers ever was Earl Anthony, whose glasses and crew-cut made him the ultimate regular guy.

To learn more about the history of bowling, click here.

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…”Maturing” Is Way Overrated

1. Aging sucks. Not getting old and geriatric. Just plain old getting older. The emergence from the blissful ignorance of youth into the stressors of adult life (jobs, kids, partners, spouses, mortgages, debt) inevitably leads to a progressive failure of one’s basic mental faculty. Your memory is no longer perfect, so you need to start writing lists. Music seems louder, so you don’t go to concerts quite as often. It’s harder to motivate to go out, so a quiet night in front of the TV is something to look forward to. It doesn’t all happen at once, but in stages. And slowly. And you never know when it starts. But at some point you realize you are mature.

2. Leon Trotsky once said, “Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that happen to a man.” This is no more evident than on any given night, for any given sport, in any given men’s beer league. Trying to relive the glory days of their youth, or foolishly thinking they still have a shot at The Bigs, men race around like they’re 22 - which is seriously worrying when you see the state of their physical fitness. And when the injuries occur, and they do more frequently than ever before, it take a long time to recover. Not surprisingly, this admission of “maturing” is a total drag.

3. The more you see, the less things surprise you. On the one hand, that’s good. That’s what experience teaches you. But on the other hand, the naive fantasy of the world slowly gets squeezed out. Think back to when you learned to ride a bike? Imagine that feeling! Those moments don’t happen often enough. When is the last time it happened to you? (I had to jump out of a plane.)

4. The more you live, the more trivial knowledge there is to fill you brain. How is it that I remember the words from the worst of 80’s pop songs, but I can’t remember what I had for lunch? Just think of how cool it would be to dump all of that inconsequential information and make room for new stuff!

5. Hangovers.

For a fascinating tutorial on Photoshop techniques for age progression, check out Exguides. (Sorry Katie, even Scientology can’t save you from time’s slow march!)

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