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This year the town of Rosemère will officially be joining the worldwide Earth Hour movement where the public will be encouraged to turn off their lights and reduce power usage in their homes between 8:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m on Saturday, March 28.
Organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the goal is to raise awareness and encourage the population to be more environmentally-conscious. "We invite all citizens to take part in this, especially our younger citizens since it will have more impact on them. It's taking small steps that lead to big results," said Rosemère Mayor Hélène Daneault.
What to do
To participate, simply turn off all lights, televisions and electronic equipment in the house and enjoy the silence. Businesses are encouraged to participate as well by dimming their lights and reducing energy use as much as possible. "Earth hour gives millions of people the opportunity to mobilise and take action against climate change. Encouraging your family, friends, and employers to do the same will send a stronger message and the impact will be greater," said Daneault.
The idea of getting the town of Rosemère to offficially participate this year came from citizen Brian Spear. A resident of Rosemère for over 15 years, Spear has been a strong advocate for taking small actions to help the environment ever since famed environmental activist, David Suzuki, made an impact on him when he worked at the airport. "About twenty years ago, I saw David Suzuki at Dorval buying a coffee and he pulled out his own mug from his pocket. I said to him, "You really practise what you preach!" Since then, I keep a cup with me all the time," explained Spear.
Global awareness
Rosemère citizens like Spear and city councillor, Wendy Gurd, have participated in Earth Hour in previous years. "The best part is when you shut all the power off and just sit and listen to the silence," said Spear. Gurd agrees. "It's really fun. If you take a walk, you can see all the people who are participating because they have no lights on," she said.
Over 2,700 cities will be participating this year in over 80 countries. As the global movement gains momentum and increases in popularity every year, Spear hopes the message will hit home. "I think every person has to be involved. This is our Earth and it won't be here forever so let's not hurry the process. It's a symbolic one hour," he stated.
For more information, visit http://www.wwf.ca.
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