Earth Hour organizers step up effort to reduce city power consumption
Calgarians will again have an opportunity to symbolically commit to conserving energy while celebrating community Saturday with the return of Earth Hour.
Participants will be encouraged to power down at several planned events across the city between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Calgary Unplugged at the St. Patrick’s Island plaza — starting at 7 p.m. — will include mini-curling, penny-farthing rides and a bike-powered dance party, among other activities.
Gerald Wheatley, manager of Open Streets, the organization behind the free event, said it’s an opportunity to educate people on living a more sustainable lifestyle.
Earth Hour began in 2007 as a symbolic “lights out” event in Sydney, Australia. It’s now the world’s largest grassroots environmental movement, with 7,000 cities in 170 countries participating each March.
Calgary, which joined the movement in 2008, does not have an enviable track record when it comes to reducing power use.
Enmax spokeswoman Gina Sutherland said there’s been “no noticeable change” in the city’s electricity consumption during previous Earth Hours. That could change this year when the Scotiabank Saddledome joins the Calgary Tower, the Bow Tower, Bankers Hall and other city landmarks in darkness.
They’ll be in good company, with the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and Sydney ’s Opera House also taking part.
“We’ve been undertaking several initiatives to reduce our consumption, so we appreciate that this is may be a way to participate with the city to indicate our alignment with the whole drive toward reducing consumption and going green,” said Libby Raines, vice-president of building operations at the Saddledome.
The Dome will extinguish the iconic red ring on its roof to commemorate the hour.
CrossIron Mills has partnered with BullFrog Power to purchase
It’s an hour, but it forces people to think about the energy they use, it encourages people to use less.
38 megawatt hours of green electricity to put on the province’s power grid; enough energy to power all residences in Airdrie and Rocky View for one hour.
“By working with Bullfrog Power, CrossIron Mills is making a symbolic renewable energy commitment for our communities and encouraging new conversations on climate change,” said James Moller, the shopping centre’s general manager.
Green electricity involves a mixture of wind and low-impact hydroelectric power, with Bullfrog Power’s energy coming exclusively from wind.
“Obviously, it’s symbolic. It’s an hour, but it forces people to think about the energy they use, it encourages people to use less,” said Anthony Santilli, vice-president of sales and marketing at Bullfrog.
“It encourages a dialogue of what type of energy you want to use and where do you want that energy to be generated.”
Earth Hour additionally provides people with an opportunity to disconnect from their electronic devices. Calgarians can participate by hosting friends to play games by candlelight, organizers suggest.
Wheatley said people should post about how and where they’re celebrating across social media before the hour starts and include the hashtags: #EarthHourYYC and #CONNECT2Earth.