Earth Hour wasn’t as dark in Toronto this year

Fewer Torontonians shut off the lights for Earth Hour this year, Toronto Hydro reveals, but the city did see a 2.8 per cent drop in electricity demand.

Thestar.com
March 24, 2017
By Emma Mcintosh

Fewer Torontonians shut off their lights Saturday night for the 10th anniversary of Earth Hour than last year, according to Toronto Hydro.

However, Toronto residents are using less and less power overall, so the drop in participation during this year’s event doesn’t mean enthusiasm for the movement is waning, said Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tori Glass.

“People are actively saving electricity in their everyday lives, so Earth Hour seems to have done a great job in promoting the message,” she said via email.

In the city, electricity demand was 77 megawatts lower than a typical Saturday in March - a 2.8 per cent drop that’s equivalent to taking 31,000 homes off the grid, according to Toronto Hydro.

Last year, the drop was 89 megawatts; in 2015 it was 103.

Local revelers celebrated Earth Hour with candelit acoustic performances at bars across the city, guided walks and even a party illuminated with paper lanterns and candles at Kew Gardens in the Beach neighbourhood.

The World Wildlife Fund started Earth Hour in Australia in 2007. The event - running from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time across the world - encourages people, businesses and communities to shut off non-essential electricity to show support for environmental sustainability. In the decade since it began, the event has grown into a global movement with millions of participants in 172 countries.

“Earth Hour is a visual signal that ordinary people the world over want to change climate change,” said the World Wildlife Fund in an emailed statement Saturday.

“It’s a sign we haven’t forgotten about the Paris Agreement, and our determination to halt the degradation climate change causes to our environment. When you see a candle in your neighbour’s window, when you see your community go dark, when you see that these small, symbolic actions are visible from outer space the world over, you see you’re not alone on this issue.”

The Toronto skyline was dimmer than usual to mark the occasion as local landmarks like the CN Tower and the famous Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips Square shut off their lights.

Thousands of other landmarks worldwide also went dark for the 10th anniversary of the event, including the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, Big Ben, the Empire State Building and the Pyramids of Egypt.