It’s lights off for Earth Hour 2009

Municipality of Jasper employees will switch off their lights and unplug their computers on Saturday, March 28 for an hour beginning at 8:30 p.m., in support of the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Earth Hour. 

Lori Rissling-Wynn, environmental stewardship coordinator, said it was an important way for residents to “show our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment and our collective impact on climate change.” 

Rissling-Wynn would like to see all Jasperites to take part. “It’s a relatively easy gesture to be able to participate in a program like this, those easy wins are the things that we should be supporting,” she said. “We’re encouraging the community to do whatever they feel is appropriate for that hour as well.”

The municipality is participating by turning off anything than draws power, so long as it’s non-essential and unrelated to programming, said Rissling-Wynn.

To help demonstrate the impact that turning the lights out for just one hour can have on energy consumption, ATCO monitored the electricity consumption from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for several Saturdays prior to the event to draw a comparison.

Their records show that Jasper normally uses about 7,250 kilowatt hours during the time span, with a peak of between seven and 7.5 megawatts during that hour. Earth Hour results will be printed in next week’s issue.

The first Earth Hour was held in 2007 by WWF in Sydney when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights. The event grew to 50 million homes across the globe in 2008. The WWF has a goal of one billion people participating in 2009, urging people to take part in a global election via their website and “vote earth... and take control over the future of our planet.”

People across the globe are being urged to take part in candle-lit dinners, board-game nights and other activities that minimize energy use during the hour.

In a statement issued by the United Nations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Earth Hour was “a way for citizens of the world to send a clear message. They want action on climate change,” he said, adding that it promised to be the largest demonstration ever attempted.

Got plans for Earth Hour? The Fitzhugh would like to know about them. Please let us know by calling 780-882-4888. People looking for suggestions or who want to register an event can visit www.earthhour.org.