Newsom Wants Your Power Turned Off
Effort to raise awareness about climate change

Mar 10 | archive | subscribe

World Wildlife Fund and Mayor Gavin Newsom have announced that San Francisco has been named a flagship city for Earth Hour, a global event, taking place March 29th at 8:00 p.m. 

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement designed to encourage everyone to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour on March 29th to raise awareness about climate change, encouraging everyone to commit to reducing energy usage in the years ahead. 

On that day, millions of businesses and people around the world will turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to demonstrate how, by working together, individuals can make a difference in the fight against this global issue. The Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, Alcatraz, Ghirardelli Square, Coit Tower, City Hall, AT&T Park and many more residences and businesses throughout the Bay Area will join the global movement as San Francisco joins an international roster of cities going dark for Earth Hour.

“With the reality of climate change upon us, cities must be a part of the solution,” said Mayor Newsom. “San Francisco leads by example, and the climate protection programs we offer, including our participation in Earth Hour, will have a direct and lasting impact from the energy we generate, to the transportation we use, to our management of recycling and waste.”

This idea began out of a movement in 2007 in Sydney, Australia; 2.2 million people and 2,100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.

Beginning 20 hours earlier, on the other side of the International Date Line, in Christchurch, New Zealand, Earth Hour will cascade around the world as the clock strikes 8 p.m. in participating cities such as Sydney, Bangkok, Tel Aviv, Dublin and Copenhagen.  San Francisco, representing the Pacific Standard Time, serves as the culmination point for Earth Hour 2008.

The global celebration of Earth Hour will culminate in San Francisco – the last of 25 cities in 20 time zones to demonstrate the power of collective action in fighting climate change.  earthhour.org