What are you doing this Saturday night? May I suggest that whatever you do, that between eight and nine p.m., turn off your lights in honour of Earth Hour. On March 31, 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour.
With Sydney icons such as the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning off their lights, and unique events like weddings held by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of Sydney, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.
In one short year, Earth Hour has grown from an idea to an international celebration of the environmental importance of turning out the lights to use less power. The incredible results from the Sydney experiment demonstrated that “if the greenhouse reduction achieved in Sydney during Earth Hour was sustained for one year, it would be the equivalent of taking 48,616 cars off the road for one year.”
How can you take part? By registering for Earth Hour at www.earthhour.org and getting involved by reducing energy consumption. Earth Hour is one little hour – 60 minutes of your life to be a part of a global collective conscience that has one goal in mind – to reduce global warming. What can you do during Earth Hour? Well I recommend one of these three ideas:
1) have a romantic candlelit dinner
2) hold an Earth Hour cocktail party by candlelight – serve Global Warming cocktails
3) explore the night sky and star gaze
If you were in Toronto, during the blackout in August 2003, you will remember how incredible the night sky was. I have never in my life seen that many stars in the city, so Earth Hour will hopefully provide an amazing hour for star gazing.
When I last checked, more than 60 cities in Canada are taking part in Earth Hour. In the GTA, approximately 15,000 people have registered as participants with the World Wildlife Fund. Toronto’s city core is expected to darken significantly with more than 30 prominent buildings like First Canadian Place, the Canada Life Building, Commerce Court and TD Centre committed to dimming their lights during Earth Hour. Some of the Toronto retailers participating include the Eaton Centre, Home Depot, Honest Ed’s, Sears Canada, Whole Foods Market, Loblaws and Willow Books. The Hudson’s Bay Company which includes The Bay, Zellers and Home Outfitters – 600 stores across Canada – are also participating by dimming or completely turning off lights depending on whether they’re open for business. Also, a free, acoustic and clean-energy-powered concert will take place at Nathan Phillips Square, featuring Nelly Furtado, Philosopher Kings and Fefe Dobson.
Simple steps like turning off your lights can make a big difference; however, if you really want to see a difference, then make Earth Hour part of your everyday life. Three simple things that can make a big difference:
1) turn off appliances while not in use
2) Change your light bulbs to energy efficient bulbs
3) turn off the lights when you leave a room
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