The world wide campaign known as Earth Hour is tomorrow, and across Oregon thousands of people, businesses, governments and other groups are signing up to take part. The idea – dim your lights for an hour, save some energy, and help raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change.
That includes Governor Kulongoski, who says he’ll dim the lights at the Governor’s mansion during Earth Hour, which runs from 8:30pm to 9:30pm.
“I ask my fellow Oregonians to join me in recognition of Earth Hour,” says Kulongoski in a press release. “By turning off our lights for one hour, we will demonstrate our willingness to take action and our collective concerns about climate change and the impacts it will have on our state and our planet.”
If you’re looking for the epicenter of Earth Hour events in our state it’s probably Portland. Here’s a partial list of some of the city’s best known landmarks going dark on Saturday night.
- The Made In Oregon sign along the Burnside Bridge.
- The Go By Train sign at Union Station.
- The Hawthorne and Morrison Bridges.
- The lights outside the Rose Garden and the spires at the Oregon Convention Center.
- The Nines Hotel.
But beyond Portland the list includes the University of Oregon, Willamette University, Eugene International High School and the Suislaw School District.
The Portland Audubon Society is also using Earth Hour to raise awareness about light pollution. Audubon says light pollution disrupts the natural cycles of plants and animals. It also creates a phenomenon known as “sky glow” which lures birds into striking city windows and is a major cause of bird deaths.
Earth Hour started two years ago in Sydney, Australia. It’s estimated that one billion people took part in last year’s Earth Hour. It’s the 8:30pm to 9:30pm hour in every time zone, so New York’s Earth Hour is three hours ahead of Oregon’s. (Except of course for that part of Eastern Oregon in the Mountain Time Zone.)
Here in the U.S., other landmarks going dark include the Las Vegas Strip, Seattle’s Space Needle and the Golden Gate Bridge.
For more information see:
MyEarthHour.org
Portland Audubon Society Earth Hour On Facebook
Earth Hour Social Media Tools (If you want to help spread the word)
Meanwhile enjoy this video produced by the Earth Hour 2010 Campaign.
