Another Earth Hour has come and gone, and although there may not have been as much public promotion about the event this year, an official with the City of London said the message remains.
Cities around the world went dark for an hour Saturday night, a symbolic call for international unity on the importance of addressing climate change.
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Unlike past years, the lights stayed on in London. But Jay Stanford, director of environmental programs with the city, said the more important message is that conversations sparked by Earth Hour now take place all-year long, not just during the event.
“We’ve started to actually put in more energy efficient light bulbs, LEDs, in place. Businesses are doing more, community groups are doing more. You can’t say Earth Hour did all that, but it sure did help to have that conversation,” Stanford said.
Stanford added that the overall amount of energy used by Londoners has dropped since the city promoted the annual event.
“We’ve seen tremendous reductions in just about all sectors here in London. We’ve got one notable place where we’re not so good, and that is our energy use with the automobile. So if there’s ever a place where Londoners need to pull up their socks, it’s adjusting transportation.”
Earth Hour began in Australia in 2007 and Canada began taking part one year later.
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