Earth Hour Success

Earth Hour was an astronomical success! At 8:50pm the electricity consumption in the city dropped by 264 Megawatts, which is approximately 175,000 households. And much of the city remains dark.

With millions of people around the world sharing this experience, I feel a rising hope for the future. It’s easy to get down when watching endless news stories about melting ice caps and hungry polar bears, but this could be the moment when we start to turn the corner, and begin to make good news happen. Tomorrow the media will be telling a new story, with photos of the dark skyline a testament to the power of co-operation, and the willingness of Canadians to work together to help reduce consumption, thereby reducing emissions.

So carpe diem! We have seized the day, turned out the lights, and turned on to climate-friendly living. It’s an amazing thing to consider that over 150 Canadian municipalities are sharing this experience.

Just imagine what we can accomplish together if we make every hour Earth Hour! Tomorrow, when the lights are back on, many of us will continue to conserve, and living ‘The Good Life’ by using less power, driving less, and feeling great. I hope that includes you, because I know that we can turn the page on the climate crisis together.

It's Earth Hour!

Even a big shaggy dog shook his tail for the count down in Nathan Phillips Square. As soon as the clock struck 8 p.m. the BMO building blinked out over the cheering crowd as Nelly stepped up to the mic to sing “Turn out the lights”. With every passing minute the night gets darker and the audience stands outlined in the fading civil twilight. In addition to some familiar faces from local news stations I’ve spotted local city councillor Janet Davis and MP Olivia Chow enjoying the show.

Officially, Toronto Hydro has reported a load drop of 223MW and dropping. “That is equivalent of approx. 100,500 homes”, says Blair Peberdy, Vice-President of Toronto Hydro, who stands on the square enjoying his hot coffee with a smile.

We’ve all got something to smile about.

Party Time!

Two well known celebrities are here tonight - Mayor David Miller and the WWF Panda. Mayor attracts many cameras but the Panda gets the hugs. In addition to the musicians mentioned in the last entry we are being entertained by fantastic up and comers like Kate Todd, Jenna, Dane, Casey and Sunshine State. People of all ages are here to enjoy the event. No doubt all of us wondering what the skyline will look like. Mike Russill, President and CEO of WWF-Canada, kicks off the event and the sun is almost gone. The sky above us is still blue but the western faces of the skyscrapers are pink with fading light.

If you are in the neighbourhood there is still time to join us. If you are further away you can also join us at home because this is the night for everybody around the world to take part in for a cause that affects us all. As Mayor Miller takes the stage he reminds us, “It isn’t impossible, it is doable if we all work together.”

That’s it for now…

The Sun is Sinking

The sun is sinking behind the skyscrapers, and filling Nathan Phillips Square with late day orange light and excitement! People with red ‘Global Warming Ain’t Cool’ bags circulate, with the crowd growing by the minute.

Nelly Furtado did a soundcheck earlier, to the delight of her screaming fans. “We love you!” a young person yelled. And through my thick winter hat, I’m pretty sure I heard Nelly say, “Thanks, I love you too.” No wonder she has so many admirers, filling the square to see her special Earth Hour acoustic performance. She has a great personality, and we’re thankful that she is giving her time to this great cause.

Not only will Nelly sing about turning out the lights tonight, but The Philosopher Kings and Fefe Dobson will also lend their talents to the free celebration tonight. No doubt the screaming fans will number in the thousands, as we watch the skyscrapers and the landmarks of Hogtown go dark for Earth Hour.

Stay tuned for the big switch off!

Blogging LIVE from Earth Hour in Canada!

The sun is bright and shining in Toronto, and the first of the spring birds are singing. Dusk is still a few hours away, but when the stars are out, the lights will go out too, and the birds will be a little bit safer than usual.

Earth Hour is a call to action on climate change, but the benefits go beyond sending a message. When cities across Canada go dark tonight at 8pm, the world will know that Canadians care, and are ready to take action to reduce our dangerous contribution to greenhouse gas pollution. But the reduced light pollution will also make the migration routes safer for birds trekking home over our urban islands on the boreal. It will also be something special for those of us living in cities- we’ll actually see the night sky filled with stars, rather than orange haze.

I was in Sweden when the August 2003 blackout happened, with three friends from Canada crowded around a television as red graphics covered much of the Eastern seaboard, and the news announcers urgently named our cities. We were all worried that something terrible happened, but when we finally called home we heard only positive tales about our families and neighbors enjoying the dark nights, realizing it is possible to live without power.

Earth Hour is very different: it’s no accident, and it’s no light matter. Over the past several years, consciousness of the climate crisis has risen, and not since the rush to deal with the ozone hole and acid rain has the environment been so prominent in the public mind. So tonight, we seize the moment, and turn out the lights by choice, because we can. And in doing so, we are taking the first step towards solving the climate crisis, again, because we can.

Soon Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto will be filled with people, and the sun will be down for an unforgettable evening. Stay tuned for more, as the posting will continue through the excitement, live from WWF-Canada’s official Earth Hour party at Nathan Phillips Square!

Canada is leading global Earth Hour effort

Many countries will participate in Earth Hour on March 29 at 8 pm, but Canada is leading the global effort on both the number of individuals who have signed up for the event and the number of cities participating. To date almost 30,000 Canadians have registered their participation for Earth Hour and more than 60 cities from coast to coast have also pledged to turn off the lights on March 29.

Even Australia, the country that pioneered the event last year, and the US with a population 10 times as large as Canada’s, are trailing in sign-ups. This is yet another signal that Canadians are serious about taking action on climate change. But the count is close. The US are behind by less than 1,000 people, so Canadians need to keep registering their participation for Earth Hour at www.earthhour.org to ensure Canada maintains its leadership status.

“We are delighted and overwhelmed by Canadians’ support for Earth Hour. This initiative began in Canada with only one city and now has grown into a national movement. Everyday I hear from individuals, businesses and organizations who are going above and beyond just turning out their lights. It’s truly inspiring,” said Tara Wood, Manager of Earth Hour, WWF- Canada.

Aside from turning their lights out, Canadians are hosting their own Earth Hour events, restaurants are creating Earth Hour menus and having candle-light dinners, numerous municipalities are hosting free public celebrations, and even businesses are donating their own advertising space to help WWF spread the word.

Nelly Furtado Headlines Earth Hour concert in Toronto

The partners of Toronto’s Earth Hour today announced that multi-platinum Grammy and Juno Award-winner, and Canada’s own, Nelly Furtado will join Earth Hour as the first Canadian Earth Hour Ambassador. She will also perform a free concert at Nathan Phillips Square on March 29 to celebrate Earth Hour.

Nelly Furtado will join other Earth Hour Ambassadors including Natalie Imbruglia, Silverchair and Rolf Harris.As an Earth Hour Ambassador and an advocate for the environment, Nelly Furtado will play an unplugged concert at the Earth Hour community event, starting at 7:30 p.m. The organizers are taking steps to make the event as carbon-neutral as possible – including powering the event with green, renewable energy from Bullfrog Power. People from across the GTA are invited to attend.

Cities Across Canada Join Earth Hour

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 12, 2008) - Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and more than a dozen other municipalities in Ontario have signed on to participate in WWF's global lights out event, Earth Hour. These cities have committed to turning off their lights for one hour at 8 p.m. on March 29, and will encourage residents and businesses within the city to participate and show support for action on climate change.

Municipalities in Ontario that have joined include Oakville, Vaughan, Brampton, Sarnia, Halton Hills, Whitby, Mississauga, and London - with dozens more interested. These Canadian cities are in addition to more than 15 major cities around the world that already joined, including Sydney, Chicago, Copenhagen and Dublin.

Last year, Earth Hour made its successful debut in Sydney, Australia. More than 2 million individuals and businesses participated, resulting in a 10 per cent reduction on the electrical grid and saving 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

This year, Toronto was the first city to sign-on to WWF's Earth Hour. WWF-Canada's official partners for Earth Hour Toronto are the Toronto Star, Virgin Mobile and the City of Toronto. Individuals can sign-up and find out more information at wwf.ca/EarthHour.

Turning off your lights for one hour will help create awareness and build momentum, but Earth Hour won't stop the climate crisis on its own. To help ensure that Canadians make long-term changes beyond Earth Hour, WWF-Canada has created The Good Life.

The Good Life is an online, action-oriented campaign to enable and encourage Canadians to make changes in their everyday lives to reduce their environmental footprint. This includes a range of actions from easy (like switching to CFL light bulbs) to more complicated (installing an energy efficient furnace) - something for everyone who wants a greener lifestyle.

In less than month since WWF-Canada launched The Good Life, participants have reduced over 5,000,000 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the equivalent of taking more than 800 cars off the road. This in turn will show our business and political leaders that Canadians are serious about demanding urgent action to fight climate change. For more information visit wwf.ca.

See which businesses in Toronto have already Signed up

Curious which businesses and organization have already pledged to particpate in Earth Hour? Well, check out the Toronto Star's new online map and see for yourself.

The numbers are growing by the day so make sure you are included and sign up today at http://www.earthhour.org/.

Toronto - Welcome to Earth Hour 2008

Toronto is proud to participate in Earth Hour 2008, the global campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More details on Toronto involvement in this momentous event will be released soon. Please visit this page again to find out about the Earth Hour push to raise awareness about climate change.

Toronto powers down for Earth Hour on March 29

On March 29, Toronto will join cities around the world in turning off its lights for Earth Hour. Earth Hour is a global lights-out phenomenon, coordinated by WWF, that will bring together people from all over the world to show their support for action on climate change. More than 15 major cities around the world are already participating including Sydney, Chicago and Copenhagen.

Toronto is the lead Canadian city commemorating Earth Hour 2008. WWF-Canada has partnered with the Toronto Star, the City of Toronto and Virgin Mobile to make Earth Hour 2008 a success. The goal is to get at least one million Torontonians to participate, and to make the city as dark as possible for one hour in a show of support for action on climate change. Torontonians can also look forward to celebrating Earth Hour at an event in the downtown core. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.

Last year, Earth Hour made its debut in Sydney and it was a huge success. More than 2 million individuals and businesses participated, resulting in a 10 per cent reduction on the electrical grid, saving 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Already, people and businesses are getting excited about this great opportunity and participation is growing by the day. All City of Toronto buildings, The Fairmont Royal York, The Home Depot and more have already committed to powering down for Earth Hour. Toronto Hydro will support Earth Hour by measuring Torontonians' success at reducing their collective electricity use during the event.

"Toronto is proud to support Earth Hour and demonstrate our commitment to protect our environment by taking real action on climate change," said Mayor David Miller. "I encourage all Torontonians to turn off their lights for Earth Hour and see the difference we can make in our city and around the world. It is in cities where real change is being made and events like this remind us that small actions by individuals can benefit everyone."

“Climate change is the most urgent environmental issue facing our planet today. In order to achieve the greenhouse gas reductions necessary to stop dangerous climate change, it will take a global effort from all levels – individuals, business and government,” said Mike Russill, President and CEO, WWF-Canada. “This is what makes Earth Hour such a great opportunity. A chance for everyone to celebrate their action together.”

"The Toronto Star is extremely excited to partner with WWF-Canada to support and promote Earth Hour. We believe in making the GTA a more environmentally-friendly place to live and we will be championing that goal in the pages of the Star and on www.thestar.com," says Jagoda Pike, publisher of the Star.

Virgin Mobile Canada will help spread the word about Earth Hour to its partners and customers, on its website and via text messages. “At Virgin Mobile, we’re taking Virgin’s global vision to do what we can to protect the environment and are continually focused on sustainability and making positive changes in Canada. We’re delighted to be part of this international event that will encourage Torontonians to take immediate action to turn off their lights which will hopefully lead to long-lasting changes in the way we conserve energy,” said Andrew Black, President and CEO of Virgin Mobile Canada.

On March 29th, all Torontonians and all Canadians are being encouraged to participate in Earth Hour to prove that Canada is serious about taking action on climate change by being the darkest city in the world. Participation is easy: commit to turning off your lights at 8 p.m. on March 29 and help spread the word. Find out how to sign up, and other information at wwf.ca/EarthHour.