Happy Earth Hour Day

There is no big party in Toronto this year. The WWF-Canada event held in Younge-Dundas Square and Nathan Phillips Square has gone the way of the dodo bird. Instead you are supposed to reduce electrical demand for Earth Hour which runs from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on Saturday, March 26, 2011. Panda's are a big part of the WWF and the Earth Hour celebrations.

I Panda my planet string bracelet - I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

The WWF says "It will continue to be a call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. A call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the global journey to a sustainable future." I think you are supposed to not wear underwear and then turn off your lights. Whatever feels good and saves the environment - the Panda doesn't judge.

The city's skyline on the evening of March 26 already seems quite dark as it waits for the start of Earth Hour.

UPDATE: TORONTO, March 27 /CNW/ - The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) tonight reported that compared to a typical Saturday in late March, demand for electricity in Ontario fell by approximately four per cent or 560 megawatts (MW) as a result of Earth Hour. This drop is equivalent to the average peak energy needs of a city the size of Brampton.

"More than anything, Earth Hour gives people a chance to think about their energy use," said Paul Murphy, President and CEO of the IESO. "Ontarians have become keenly aware of the need to conserve electricity - not just during Earth Hour, but at other times of the year as well."


Local media reported that the energy reductions during the event have been rapidly falling over the past three years - from 15% in 2009, 10% in 2010 to this years 4-5%. My opinion is that rather than indifference the many residential, commercial and large buildings in Toronto have long since joined the energy conservation bandwagon in an effort to have positive PR, be green, help the planet and help the bottom line.

One week to Earth Day - Bloggers Unite

Ask not what the Earth can do for you (it has done so much already) - ask what you can do for your Earth. Ich bin ein Earthling.

Sometimes we look to one shining individual (like John F Kennedy) to galvanize people to make life changing actions, but it ultimately falls upon individuals to make the necessary changes. Bit by bit we seem to be getting the notion that our environment needs help. We need less pollution and more postive contributions and if I try and you try then maybe our combined contributions can make an impact.


Wind turbines in the Lake Huron Wind Farm provide clean, renewable power to Ontario resident's, helping to reduce our carbon footprint.

The annual awareness of our planet celebrated on Earth Day is now one week away - Wednesday April 22, 2009, what can you do for Earth?

Earth Day - April 22, 2009 - Bloggers Unite

Our annual celebration of the planet approaches and every year more and more people seek to make positive contributions to make our world better. We recycle more, compost more and try to turn off lights, but is this enough?



In decades we will see the production of oil fall while the demand for oil, coal and gas increase. We see factories pollute and every car on the road seems to be a massive SUV with two or more vehicles sitting in the driveways and garages of large homes. Oil and other carbon energy sources are finite and the markets have recently driven the costs of a barrel of oil through the roof - helping to put the economy into this recession/depression once again.

Joining in the growing green revolution we must seek to reduce our impact to the environment, we have to reduce our energy requirements, we must make choices that will not harm earth. And 'we' includes companies that must not always act in the interest of only their bottom line although going green can hopefully reduce costs and return more profits to the stockholders.

People have started to change their attitudes and small steps like not using plastic shopping bags can soon grow to where large Cities like Toronto can turn off the lights in a mass show of support for Earth Hour on March 28, 2009. "At 8:30 p.m. on Saturday March 28, the City of Toronto and its residents and businesses will join millions of people around the world and turn off the lights for Earth Hour to show our support for action on climate change."

Green is making a choice: less packaging, buy the more fuel efficient vehicle, take and support public transit as much as possible - you can choose what you can do to help. Love your neighbors, your family, your friends and the Earth.

www.earthday.net/earthday2009
and Earth Day Canada www.earthday.ca/pub/index.php