People across the world switch off lights for Earth Hour
Posted March 31, 2012 8:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Earth Hour was marked around the world and here in Canada today, as supporters turned off their lights from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. local time.
More than 500 municipalities across the country are promising to take part, including 87 communities here in BC.
While many pessimists say little gestures like this don’t make a difference, Jennifer Young with BC Hydro disagrees. “Many small drops in a bucket make a difference. Last year we had 80 communities in BC participating, this year we have 87. Altogether last year, we were able to affect a 1.8 per cent drop in the provincial electricity load.”
Young says that’s the equivalent of about 7.8-million compact fluorescent light bulbs being turned off.
Around Vancouver, the lights along the Lions Gate Bridge were turned off at 8:30 p.m., as will the lights outlining the Legislature in Victoria.
One North Shore business also had a special evening planned to mark the energy conservation event. Tim Morrison at the Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier says guests were invited to flick off some switches. “We are providing them with small, rechargeable LED candles that they will have in their rooms.”
He says the Pinnacle had a great response to its Earth Hour events last year. “A lot of guests thought it was a positive action that they could potentially do themselves when they leave the hotel and restaurant.”
Other Earth Hour events around the province include a candlelight potluck in White Rock, a movie night in Powell River and a bicycle-powered concert in Whistler.
This year, Earth Hour launched “I Will If You Will” on YouTube, in which people share how they’re going to save the planet.
Earth Hour was started by the WWF in Australia in 2007. In that one year, more than 2.2-million people and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour. Canada and the rest of the world joined in 2008, as Earth Hour really took off here with the participation of major cities.
In 2011, 135 different countries and more than 5,200 cities participated in Earth Hour. In Canada, 43 per cent of people had turned off their lights – almost 15-million people across 427 cities.
For the first time ever, Earth Hour will be held in the Libyan town of Tripoli, just five months after the end of the uprising.
