Day 312 of 365 – Earth Hour

By David Waters on March 31, 2012 • ( 2 )

For one hour on Saturday (March 31), it’s going to be dark. Not just outside but inside as well and it’s not just happening in Orangeville….It’s world wide!

Yes, that’s right. It’s Earth Hour and it will be happening today! Orangeville town officials are calling on residents to turn off all non-essential lights and appliances from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. today.

Everyone I ask says the same thing, the purpose of Earth Hour is to create awareness about conservation and demand and reducing our carbon footprint.

I think if you tell everyone that there is a savings during Earth Hour I think more people might give it a try :).

Millions of people remember the historic August 2003 blackout, when overgrown trees on powerlines triggered an outage that cascaded across an overloaded regional grid. An estimated 50 million people lost power in Canada and eight northeastern states. That night was the best time I’ve ever had with with my neighbours, we came together and engaged in lost art of great conversations.

That is also the last time I’ve had cable. That’s right I don’t watch TV and it’s an awesome feeling! Plus I save $150 every month and my kids and wife never have any fights over the remote..LOL. We are all big readers!

It’s time that we being to understand and become aware of our energy consumption and conservation and the impact on we have on the environment.

So what is Earth Hour anyway! It’s a good question that everyone needs to ask. It is a global event that brings together millions of people around the world in a show of support for action on climate change. Initiated in Australia several years ago, 2.2 million people turned off their lights for one hour in 2007.

In 2008, the event went global, and Orangeville along with other towns and cities have been participating ever since.

The Earth Hour event will start with a free swim from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Alder Street recreation centre. There will also be interactive activities, entertainment, a free barbecue and hot chocolate at Westside Secondary School from 7 to 9 p.m. Then at 8:29 p.m., there will be a countdown to Earth Hour at Westside, with acoustic music and entertainment while the lights are dimmed from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

For more information about Orangeville’s Earth Hour event, visit http://www.orangeville.org.