On Saturday, March 28th the Township of Esquimalt will join Earth Hour celebrations across British Columbia and around the world by powering down. Earth Hour will take place around the globe this Saturday, March 28, 2009 from 8:30 – 9:30 pm local time. The event is organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and is supported by BC Hydro and over 55 local governments in BC.
Mayor Barb Desjardins invites Esquimalt’s residents, local businesses and employees to join the Township in participating in this global event. “The Township of Esquimalt is taking action against climate change by working towards carbon neutrality in our operations by 2012. Earth Hour is an excellent way to get our community’s toes wet in realizing how easy it is for each individual to take action against global warming,” says Mayor Barb Desjardins.
Esquimalt’s participation in Earth Hour will take place over the entire weekend and will include:
- powering down staff workstations
- switching off all lights in the Municipal Hall – except emergency and library lighting
- shutting off the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the Municipal Hall
- turning off the lights in the Town Square and the exterior projector for the Municipal Hall’s outside mural
- switching off the interior and exterior lights at the Public Works Yard and Parks Nursery
- powering off lighting and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the recreation centre at night
Earth Hour is an international event that brings attention to the issue of global warming by asking individuals, businesses and governments to turn off their lights for an hour. It began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia and in 2008 became a global sustainability movement. This year’s goal is to have 1 billion people participate in a global vote and “vote earth” by switching their lights off for an hour. To register for Earth Hour please visit www.EarthHourCanada.org.
For more information please contact:
Marlene Lagoa, Manager of Communications and Sustainability
Township of Esquimalt
Tel: 250-414-7122