With Earth Hour set for Saturday, the City of London is changing its strategy to reduce energy use.
Traditionally, the city has asked Londoners to power down between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., on the last Saturday of March, when Earth Hour is recognized annually.
This year, municipal officials want to raise awareness about climate change and what the public can do every day to reduce energy use.
“As the City, we’re looking ahead and planning for the future. It is important to see the bigger picture when it comes to playing a proactive role in energy conservation," says London Mayor Matt Brown.
"It’s more than just turning lights off for an hour. Creating awareness about being efficient with our energy consumption is key to ensuring topics like conservation and climate change are top of mind all year round.”
Locally, the shift in focus of Earth Hour is to promote individual actions on energy conservation for all 8,760 hours of the year.
The city has released some suggestions to help with this goal:
- Walk or bike to work
- Carpool
- Use public transit
- Use free heat and light (open drapes, use clothes line)
- When purchasing a vehicle choose fuel efficient
- Use renewable energy
- Renovate older homes with energy saving features
- Use apps to track and save energy and water use
Families and businesses can share stories about ways they've reduced energy consumption. Just click on the link in this story.
