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Earth Hour Resolution
PURPOSE: The purpose of this agenda item is to present a resolution supporting Earth Hour.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Patricia McGuire, 918-7327, Randy Dodd, 918-7326
INFORMATION: Earth Hour, sponsored by World Wildlife Fund, has cemented itself as the largest voluntary action for the environment, with hundreds of millions of people around the world coming together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple-turning off their lights for one hour. In 2013, Earth Hour concluded another record sweep around the planet, with hundreds of millions again uniting to send a clear and determined message to create a sustainable future for our planet. The event was observed in more than 7000 cities, towns and municipalities in more than 150 countries and territories, with "lights out" as the backdrop to a multitude of "beyond the hour" activities and initiatives. In 2012, the campaign launched the "I Will If You Will" campaign, with more than 200,000 individuals accepting a challenge, and astronaut Andr? Kuipers observing the lights off event from the International Space Station. Also, just months after the end of the Libyan uprising, two teenagers in Tripoli organized the very first Earth Hour in Libya. For Earth Hour 2010, polling in the United States showed that an estimated 90,000,000 Americans participated as "lights out" included iconic landmarks such as Mount Rushmore, the Las Vegas Strip, the Empire State Building and Niagara Falls. In Chicago, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) developed lighting guidelines to reduce light pollution, and reduce the carbon footprint of downtown buildings. Mount Rushmore in South Dakota has started powering down each night around 9 p.m. instead of 11 p.m. In Vietnam, electricity demand fell 500,000 kWh during Earth Hour 2010, which was three times larger than in 2009. About 4000 cities participated, including landmarks such as B...
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