For the third year in a row, the City of Westmount is joining communities worldwide to observe Earth Hour on Saturday, March 27, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., to show support for action on climate change. The City will be turning off all non-essential lighting in municipal buildings and is encouraging its residents to do their part.
“While Earth Hour is symbolic, it serves to remind people of the need to conserve energy by such simple things as replacing conventional incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights and by turning off lights when leaving a room for more than 5 minutes,” explains Westmount’s Sustainable Development Coordinator, Joshua Wolfe. “So turn off your lights – and even your TV, computer, iPod and other powered appliances – for an hour. This will remind you how much energy we purchase and consume.”
This year, the City is celebrating Earth Hour with new community initiatives. The Environmental Events subcommittee of the Westmount Healthy City Project has organized Stargazing at Summit Lookout. Lamp standards in Sunnyside Park will also be turned off to highten the experience. On site, residents will be able to exchange old incandescent light bulbs for new compact fluorescents, or simply enjoy refreshments under a starlit sky. Parking is extremely limited, so participants are encouraged to walk, carpool or take the free shuttle bus, which will leave from
City Hall at 7:30 p.m.
More information is available by clicking here.
During last year’s Earth Hour, Westmount reduced its energy use by an estimated 4%. Moreover, 50 million people across 35 countries turned off their lights, sending a message across the globe.
Earth Hour
WWF pioneered Earth Hour globally in 2008 and it was a huge success! More than 30 countries participated in this exciting initiative. In Canada, last year, almost 10 million Canadians participated in more than 150 cities across the country. People and businesses from coast-to-coast celebrated with candle-light parties, moonlight walks and other events to commemorate the hour power down. Westmount City Council adopted a resolution in support of Earth Hour 2010 at its regular meeting on March 1.
More information on Earth Hour in Canada is available at
wwf.ca/earthhour/ 
