Councilman Mattox's Monthly Newsletter Column March 2008
Turn Out for Earth Hour
Are you looking for an easy way to go “green”? Look no further than Earth Hour 2008. Championed by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour 2008 is a one-hour event that will bring together people from around the world to celebrate their commitment to finding climate change solutions. To participate, all you have to do is turn off your lights from 8 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, March 29. But you won’t be alone. This year, residents and businesses in 20 cities around the world from Bangkok to Vancouver will participate in Earth Hour, and Phoenix is proud to be one of them.
Earth Hour is an outgrowth of an event that took place in Sydney, Australia last year. The Australian pilot event drew 2.2 million participants and achieved an impressive 10.2 percent reduction in energy use in just one hour—the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road for an hour.
Earth Hour calls on individuals and local businesses to turn off non-essential lighting and/or other appliances like TVs, radios and computers to illustrate their commitment to finding climate change solutions. Participants should sign up for Earth Hour at earthhour.org; you can use this hour of observance to replace standard light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs or spend some quality time with friends and family.
Phoenix is one of three other US cities—Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco—selected to participate in Earth Hour. Here in Phoenix, City Hall and the Calvin C. Goode Building will be among the downtown buildings that will showcase our city’s dedication to change. SRP and APS will also be turning their lights out for Earth Hour along with a variety of other local businesses. Even more exciting, we’ll actually be able to see the difference our city is making because NASA will take pictures of each of the cities participating in Earth Hour from space. I know the picture of Phoenix will show how dedicated our citizens are to positively impacting climate change.
The average annual carbon emissions in the United States alone measure 19.6 tons per person, so it is important that each one of us reduce our carbon footprint if we want to hand over a healthy planet to our children. Electrical power in Arizona comes from a combination of sources, mostly nuclear, coal and natural gas, so reducing power usage during Earth Hour will reduce carbon emissions.
This event will show that each of us can be part of the solution to reducing carbon emissions, even if that means doing something as simple as turning off lights as we leave a room. Please join us on March 29. For more information on how you can participate in this cause, visit earthhour.org.
If you have questions or comments about this or any other topic or issue, call Councilman Mattox’s office at 602-262-7446 or send an e-mail to council.district.5@phoenix.gov.