Agent Will

If you’re reading this on Saturday, March 29th, from 8pm to 9pm then you must not be participating in Earth Hour. The Greater Vancouver region (most of it, far as I can tell) will be turning off the lights (except for essential services) in a show of support for the environment by reducing energy consumption and to reduce our carbon footprint. So what can you do during this hour with no TV, internet, or lights? How about lighting a few candles, reading a book, telling stories to loved ones, writing (with a pen and paper), go for a walk and look at the early evening stars, or if that doesn’t grab you then how about just cleaning (no one ever wants to dust, do they?).

In our modern society I wonder how many individuals will really take part in this. We are so dependent on our electricity to get by, aren’t we? I’ll take part because I think it will be an interesting experiment to live without power, if only for an hour. Likely the family and I will go for a walk in the neighbourhood.

BC Hydro is a world leader in energy conservation, and has become an active participant in Earth Hour 2008. BC Hydro encourages residents, businesses and organizations in BC to turn off their lights and other electricity-consuming devices for one hour on Saturday, March 29, from 8 to 9 pm.

Earth Hour, run by the World Wide Fund for Nature, was created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced: global warming. On March 31, 2007, 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2 per cent for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for 60 minutes.

Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities—including Vancouver—have joined Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Residents, businesses and organizations in BC can participate by:

To learn more about ways to conserve energy in everyday life, as well as BC Hydro’s Power Smart residential programs such as mail-in rebates, the refrigerator buy-back program, ENERGY STAR windows, PST exemptions and Power Smart New Homes, visit www.bchydro.com/powersmart .

• Turning off all unnecessary lights and other electricity-consuming equipment at 8 pm for one hour, on Saturday, March 29.
•  Signing up at www.bchydro.com to receive information on how to be more involved in Earth Hour, including useful tools and tips.
•  Encouraging friends to participate and sign up online at www.bchydro.com .

More information, including a countdown clock, can be found here: http://www.earthhour.org/cities/vancouver/