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March 15, 2008

Countdown to Earth Hour

New program launched by WWF-Canada and the Toronto Star aims to send a message to political leaders to take global warming seriously

Join the movement by turning off the lights for an hour on March 29

Dec 13, 2007 07:00 PM
Catherine Porter
Environment Reporter

Frustrated by Canada's stalling as the climate change negotiations head into their final hours in Bali?

Then join a movement to let political leaders know you are worried about global warming and willing to do your part.

Turn off your lights and electrical appliances for one hour one evening in March. It's called Earth Hour and it will bring a brief wave of darkness spreading around the world to symbolize people's commitment to tackle global warming.

"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 Jim Leape, director general of World Wildlife Fund International, from Bali on Thursday.

"People are ready to take action in their own lives and expecting their governments to take action."

That includes Toronto. Launched by WWF-Canada and the Toronto Star, T.O. will join more than a dozen other cities around the globe in turning off the lights for an hour on March 29, from 8 to 9 p.m.

Imagine the CN Tower, the Rogers Centre and the glow of Yonge St. all blackened temporarily, allowing city dwellers a rare glimpse of the stars.

"Every person, every business and every government has a shared duty to fight climate change," said Toronto Mayor David Miller, urging Torontonians to take part in the project. "Where national governments fail to lead, cities can and must lead."

"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."

Toronto committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2020, and by 80 per cent by 2050. Greenhouse gases trap the Earth's heat and, according to the world's leading climate scientists, are altering world's temperature and weather patterns.

Other cities committed to Earth Hour so far include Chicago, Auckland, Tel Aviv, Copenhagen, Manila, Suva in Fiji, and Sydney, Australia, where the event started last year.

On that March night, an estimated 2.2 million people – including 2,000 businesses – pulled off the grid for an hour, by dimming their lights, unplugging computers or switching off televisions. For that hour, the city's regular electricity use dropped by 10 per cent. The Opera House sails went black, the Harbour Bridge darkened, downtown businesses turned off the regular fluorescent glare of the city's skyline and restaurants served meals by candlelight. The town hall temporarily went to sleep.

By all accounts, it was a huge success – and a show by the Aussie population they didn't approve of then-Prime Minister John Howard's staunch rejection of the Kyoto Accord, the United Nation's agreement to cut greenhouse gases. (Since then, they've elected a new environmentalist Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.)

"The public is leading on this issue. It's alarmed and wants to see the right action," Leape said. "It is a political statement that we are going to join together and make a difference."

As the 13th annual United Nations conference on climate change wraps up Friday, Leape and other environmental activists still held onto faint hope delegates could bridge the gap between two sides: Countries, including the European Union, that are committed to deep emissions cuts, and others, including Canada, that won't accept numbers of any sort.

Canada's Environment Minister John Baird said on Thursday that Canada won't agree to emission cuts without the United States – as it would hurt our economy without improving the atmosphere.

"Canada has been consistently obstructionist for the whole two weeks. So, of course, has the United States," said Leape. "The question is whether the rest can overcome the resistance of those two – and Japan – and do what needs to be done."

One hour of darkness won't stop the globe from warming, but the event is designed to get people to stop and think about what is taken for granted – electricity – especially when it's generated by carbon-belching coal plants, one of the world's leading causes of climate change.