Lights out, Toronto

Torontonians will participate in Earth Hour next spring by turning off lights and appliances from 8 to 9 p.m. on March 29 to symbolize a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. “Every person, every business and every government has a shared duty to fight climate change,” says Toronto Mayor David Miller. “Where national governments fail to lead, cities can and must lead.”

Kyoto controversy aside, Toronto is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 30% before 2020 and a further 50% by 2050.

“The public has become increasingly alarmed about climate change. They’re seeing it in their daily lives, faster and worse than scientists predicted even a few years ago, and are increasingly impatient to see something done about it,” said the director general of World Wildlife Fund International in Bali yesterday. “People are ready to take action in their own lives and expecting their governments to take action.”

On March 31, 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses in Sydney, Australia, turned off their lights for an hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced the city’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour - the equivalent effect of taking 48 000 cars off the road for one hour.

Other cities committed to Earth Hour next year include Chicago, Auckland, Tel Aviv, Copenhagen, Manila and Suva in Fiji. WWF-Canada, the City of Toronto and the Toronto Star are sponsoring the event in our city. “Earth Hour and the Toronto Star share a common purpose, to raise awareness about global climate change,” said Star publisher Jagoda Pike. “This event is an opportunity to show how individuals acting together as a community can have a huge impact. Ultimately, we hope it gets people thinking and talking here in Toronto and in cities around the world about real solutions to what is arguably the most important issue of our time.”

The purpose of Earth Hour is to get people to consider what they normally take for granted - electricity - and the effects of its production on global climate change. For more information, check out www.earthhour.org.