Earth Hour Interviews in the Dark and on the Street, Including One With Nashville Mayor Karl Dean
Earth Hour 2009 went off amazingly all over the world!
The Fun Times Guide to Living Green was on the street and at a VIP party in Nashville, TN—1 of the 8 flagship U.S. cities—catching folks both before the flip of the switch and also in the darkness of Earth Hour to find out what they thought about Earth Hour.
...oh, and we were also able to catch up with Nashville Mayor, Karl Dean! Check it out!
Check out the interviews before the flip of the switch and also in the darkness after the jump...
Through his "green ribbon" program, Mayor Dean has done more to advance green living in Nashville than very possibly any other Nashville mayor, so we were especially glad to catch up with him.
Some of the interview answers in the following 2 videos are crazy, some are serious, but they are ALL, without a doubt, TONS OF FUN!
Apologies for the minor sound issues during some interviews, the wind was gusting to 40mph into our mic...which was a wireless lapel mic rolled up in a magazine (that we recycled afterwards). How cool is that?
Interviews BEFORE the Flip of the Switch:
Interviews in the Dark, AFTER the Flip of the Switch:
A Little About One of the Interviewees:
In the first video, before the flip of the switch for Earth Hour, the man introduced as "Skip" was in fact Skip Lawrence of Lawrence Bros, LLC.
Lawrence Bros, LLC is an award-winning, certified green home builder in Nashville, TN. As I learned right after my interview with Skip, Lawrence Bros, LLC is also on the aforementioned Mayor's Green Ribbon Committee in Nashville!
I didn't know Skip at all before the interview, but I'm glad to make another new green friend helping to change the face of one our country's cities and help it's citizens have FUN living green.
Here's what Nashville's skyline looked like after the flip of the switch (courtesy of Nashvillest):
What do you think of the people in Nashville's reactions to Earth Hour?
Keep in mind that, short of a brief request of their willingness to do a quick interview, they were totally on the spot.
What was the reaction to and participation in Earth Hour like where you live?
Special Thanks to:
- McKneely, Piggot, and Fox PR firm for busting their tails for many months to garner support for and participation in Nashville's Earth Hour AND for putting on the VIP party
- My friends Rick and Heather who helped me find people to interview, doing an awesome job shooting the videos, and for providing all of the A/V equipment. You guys rock!
sweet. it was fun to be a part of something earthy even when i wasn't in liberal new england--where you get tarred-and-feathered if you don't recycle!
I love the vids & way cool of your mayor to get the whole city involved! Sometimes I miss living in Nashville.... there was very little info on Earth Hour floating around town here.
We turned our lights off for that hour, as well--ok, so we continued watching the televisions (yes, plural) But, hey, we did something and that was the goal! :) Excellent post and great interviews!
Cool videos! Funny that the interviews ranged from Earth Hour-clueless to done-gone-greeners. Even though most folks threw around buzz-phrases like "save the planet" (which I still maintain needs no saving...we're more in danger than it is) or "go green", I think the majority are at least aware that there's an environmental situation. Awareness is the first step, so that's cool.
Sounds like a lot of people are also willing to take up recycling/waste minimizing action which is really the kicker b/c, as we know, each individual action counts toward a larger effect.
Looks like Earth Hour fulfilled its purpose in Nashville by making a statement of conservation and showing how living green can still be fun!