Environment

World Wildlife Fund: Earth Hour 2010 - What time is earth hour?

by Jacob Zinn | March 22, 2010 at 10:29 am

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Earth Hour is between 830-930 local time

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) hopes a billion people will take part in Earth Hour on March 27 by shutting off their lights for 60 minutes.

For the last 4 years, businesses, government agencies, communities and individuals around the world have sat in the dark for an hour in an effort to save energy. This year’s global initiative asks everyone to turn off their lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time, no matter what time zone.

Earth Hour began in 2007 when 2.2 million homes and businesses in Sydney, Australia flicked off their light switches to increase awareness of climate change. The following year, it went worldwide with more than 50 million participants.

The huge success of Earth Hour shows that Canadians are ready to take action on climate change,” said WWF Canada President and CEO Gerald Butts. “Last year, more than 10 million Canadians participated in Earth Hour, and this year we hope even more people turn off their lights.

More than 200 cities and 105 countries are confirmed to participate this Earth Hour, and famous landmarks such as the CN Tower in Canada and the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt will cut the power for an hour.

Canada Turns Its Lights Off for Earth Hour

In Vancouver the lights at City Hall, Library Square and the Vancouver Museum and Space Centre will be off. So will the flood lights on Burrard Bridge. The city has been participating since 2008.

In Alberta, downtown Edmonton will be in the dark for the hour and residents of Red Deer—who reduced their electricity consumption last year by 2.5% during Earth Hour—will be doing the same again. It will also be lights out for participating municipal buildings in Montreal.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, the Ontario Clean Air Alliance announces the green bin organic waste program and recommends converting skylights to solar units. Hopefully Earth Hour efforts will be the another step in adjusting climate change for Ontario given its mayor, David Miller's, initiative at the Coppenhagen Conference.

WWF Wants Consumers to Save Beyond Earth Hour

Organizers hope Earth Hour will get people thinking more about conserving energy throughout the year, not just on March 27—and not just by turning off their lights.

More broadly, the WWF would like people to bike to work instead of drive, insulate their homes to be more energy efficient, and read news online to save paper.

The Earth Hour website has many more ways individuals and businesses can help save energy and cut costs so check it out and turn it off!