One Million Burning

A Message from the Founder, Emily Isaacson

Our grassroots movement began with a simple truth: the light that fills our homes should sustain life, not diminish it. From the beginning, One Million Burning has supported the use of full-spectrum and candlelight over the glare of fluorescent bulbs. Although we once hoped environmental efficiency would walk hand in hand with human health, the evidence could no longer be ignored. Fluorescent 'eco' bulbs may save energy, but they expose us to radiation, mercury, and wavelengths that harm the developing eyes and minds of children. The research supporting this truth is extensive, and you will find much of it gathered here.

In 2013, we lit our first candle—not just in protest, but in remembrance of the natural light we were losing. Our call was simple: Light a candle this year in support of candlelight and full-spectrum lighting, and change the law that makes fluorescent bulbs mandatory in Canada. That small flame became a symbol of hope, a way of reclaiming the warmth, peace, and health that natural light provides.

More than a decade later, the world is beginning to change. Mercury-based lighting is being phased out across nations, and a new awareness of biological light and human-centred design is taking hold. Scientists, designers, and health advocates are rediscovering what we knew from the start: light is medicine, and the quality of the light we live under shapes every cell in the body.

Today, One Million Burning continues its mission with renewed purpose—to inspire a global return to light that heals, not harms. We invite you to stand with us: to choose full-spectrum illumination, to open the blinds, to burn candles, and to let natural light restore the human spirit. Together, we are the light—burning brightly for truth, for wellness, and for the generations that follow.

Light a candle, in soy or beeswax or paraffin  . .