Power down and switch off for Earth Hour

VICTORIA – Celebrating its ninth year, Earth Hour 2015 takes place Saturday, March 28, between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. with Environment Minister Mary Polak calling on British Columbians to take part in this symbolic global event.

Earth Hour encourages people to conserve energy by turning off lights and electronics for one hour. British Columbians participating can celebrate the hour by having a candlelight dinner, talking to neighbours, stargazing, camping, playing board games – the possibilities are endless.

During last year's Earth Hour, the province saved 65 megawatt hours of electricity and reduced the provincial electricity load by 1% – the equivalent of turning off about 1.4 million lights. The cities with the highest reduction in energy use were Whistler and Esquimalt with 6%. Last year, 69 B.C. communities, countless businesses and thousands of citizens took part in this 60-minute event.

Earth Hour has grown to become the world's biggest mass participation event in history according to the World Wildlife Fund. This year, British Columbians will join their counterparts in six continents, 120 countries and 24 time zones in turning off their lights and powering down.

The World Wildlife Fund originated Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia in 2007. It is a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to raise awareness around a broad range of environmental issues. Earth Hour began as a lights-off event and has grown over the past nine years to include more than 7,000 cities and towns worldwide.