Ottawa to turn off lights for Earth Hour on March 28
City turns off lights for Earth Hour
Ottawa – The City of Ottawa is proud to be a supporting city of Earth Hour and will be asking all residents to participate in the campaign scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 28th from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Earth Hour is a global campaign, initiated by the World Wildlife Fund in Sydney, Australia in 2007. The campaign encourages individuals and businesses to join together to demonstrate the potential for action on climate change initiatives. Through their participation, individuals can understand that it’s possible to make a real difference on their environment.
This year, organizers hope to reach one billion people in more than 1,000 cities around the world.
“Be reminded that 60 minutes of awareness will go a long way to demonstrating how each one of us can make a difference to the future of our environment,” said Mayor Larry O’Brien. “We cannot afford to ignore this global call to action and I encourage every person, business, government, school and organization to participate. In coming together we can reduce our energy consumption and we can be a part of the greatest voluntary effort on climate change that the world has ever witnessed.”
“Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing our planet,” said Councillor Peter Hume, Chair of the Planning and Environment Committee. “Earth Hour is a chance to think about the difference even a small act can make. It’s about more than just one hour though. It’s about inspiring people to make changes in their everyday lives that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the year.”
The City of Ottawa is once again partnering with Hydro Ottawa and the Ottawa Sun and will be reaching out to businesses and residents over the next six weeks to encourage them to shut off all non-essential lighting for Earth Hour.
“Earth Hour is a powerful symbol of the difference we can all make through simple actions to create a more sustainable future,” said Rosemarie Leclair, President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa. “It’s easy to take electricity for granted. Earth Hour reminds us that it’s a valuable resource that we need to conserve, in order to make cleaner energy sources go farther. It’s especially important to communicate this message to children and youth, who are often the agents of change, and Earth Hour is a fun way to do that in all of our homes.”
For more information, or to register your involvement, visit ottawa.ca.