Shut off the lights!

By Jennifer Hoegg

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

Windsor is hoping the lights will go out March 29. A darkened downtown may seem an odd wish, but it is a small step towards a larger goal.

The town is joining in on a World Wildlife Fund effort to make a global point about energy conservation and climate change -- Earth Hour 2008.

Between 8 and 9 p.m. Saturday evening, Windsor will turn off all non-essential lighting, joining cities and towns in the Maritimes and around the world.

Mayor Anna Allen is enthusiastically promoting the initiative, “because I, like everyone else on the Earth, should be concerned about climate change.” Can a few thousand people in Windsor impact a global problem? Allen thinks that a simple effort like shutting off the lights is a great way to begin.

Doing more than talking about going green is crucial. “Little town, big firsts,” she noted. “We can do something for our earth.”

Town support “The town will shut down any lights not needed for safety,” Allen said. The mayor is asking residents and businesses to join in, turning off the lights at 8 p.m. The town RCMP is already behind the effort, committing additional foot patrols during the darkened hour in order to deter opportunistic criminals.

The idea was warmly received at the recent Committee of the Whole meeting, with council members and staff eager to do something towards a greener town.

Windsor CAO Louis Coutinho thinks it is a positive step for the municipality and will have a “huge impact” on the Town’s environmental message to residents.

Windsor is asking Nova Scotia Power NSP to report on the impact of the hour-long shut down.

Allen thinks the evening is an easy opportunity for residents to send a message to other levels of government about their concern for our environment.

Watch the town go dark

She suggests local residents switch off their lights and gather with their neighbours to enjoy the evening while watching the town go dark, as residents of Sydney, Australia did in 2007. “It’s a good opportunity to do something for the earth and to send a message to our political leaders. We only have one earth”

Last year’s event in Sydney involved 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses. The city even turned off the lights on its famed bridge and opera house. By turning off the lights, Sydney's energy consumption was reduced by 10.2 per cent for one hour; organizers say that one hour had the same effect on energy consumption as taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.

The spread of the event has inspired Allen. “Last year, it was a Sydney, Australia, thing -- this year it is a global thing.”

Large centres switching off

Large cities, such as San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Copenhagen and Tel Aviv, will be switching off this year. Even the CN Tower will go black. On a local front, Halifax, Fredericton and Charlottetown are participating, along with many smaller towns such as Windsor and Mahone Bay.

Participants worldwide are planning candlelight dinners and parties to mark the occasion. Popular social networking site Facebook lists hundreds of such events.

Although the event lasts only one hour, the effects might last much longer. Earthhour.org encourages participants to make energy consciousness part of their lives everyday, from switching off unneeded lights, electronics and appliances to choosing sources of green energy.

Allen acknowledged that it is important to be realistic about the new event, but she is hoping that much of Windsor will go black March 29. “It’s one little way that Windsor can do something environmentally.”

For more information on the event, see www.earthhour.org