Residents in the Cowichan Valley are encouraged to turn off their lights and power down their electronics on Saturday night for Earth Hour 2016.
Between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. locals have the chance to join the global event that began in 2007. Its goal is to show support for action on climate change by highlighting just how much energy we use on a regular basis.
Last year’s Earth Hour resulted in 15 megawatt hours of electricity saved, reducing the overall provincial electricity load by 0.2 per cent — the equivalent of turning off almost 680,000 LED light bulbs, says a provincial government news release.
“An hour without electricity reminds us of our growing dependence on technology and the importance of being mindful of our impact on the planet,” said provincial Environment Minister Mary Polak in the release. “We can all make the choices necessary to use less.”
The top five communities in B.C. for overall power savings in 2015 were Whistler, Invermere, Clearwater, Houston and Logan Lake.
In the Cowichan Valley, last year the City of Duncan recorded the highest reductions with 1.7 per cent, lagging well behind the provincial leaders who scored a 7.2 per cent reduction. North Cowichan came in at a 1.6 per cent reduction.