Earth Hour

Every year at the end of March, the global community comes together to make a difference for the environment with an event called Earth Hour. It is a great opportunity for homeowners everywhere to do their part and see what a big difference we can all make when we come together. Planet_earth

To participate in Earth Hour, all you have to do is turn off all nonessential lights in your home for one designated hour. This is a small contribution, but when thousands of people, businesses, and landmarks get involved it can really make an impact. Earth Hour 2014 is scheduled for Saturday, March 29, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. during your local time.

The first Earth Hour event was held in 2007 in Sydney Australia when the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) encouraged residents to reduce their energy consumption by turning off the lights for an hour. In Sydney, the people responded with over 2 million participants. Since then, the effort has grown to include other sustainability projects around the world. It is still put on and promoted by the WWF.

The WWF encourages people to see the event as a symbolic action. The foundation does not catalog data on carbon emissions during the hour. They say the event is really meant to cause people to be conscious of their energy consumption and engage with the idea of waste reduction on a global level. By seeing lights go off in participating cities and neighborhoods all over the world we can feel connected to each other in trying to create a safer, more environmentally friendly future.

This year, at least fifty American cities have pledged to participate in earth hour in some way, including San Francisco, Manhattan Beach, and Culver City in California. Landmarks also turn off extra lights or support the project in other ways while still keeping visitors safe. This year, these will include the Golden Gate Bridge and LA International Airport.

To find out more about the event and learn what you can do to support the project you can visit the Earth Hour website here.

Also, see how, at Alps, we are committed to setting you up for smart energy consumption every day of the year with these tips for Heating Your Home with the Sun, Keeping Cool While Saving Money and Energy, and Understanding Energy Efficient Upgrades and Incentives.

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