People from all walks of life, from all nations around the world, are the lifeblood of the Earth Hour interconnected global community. They have proven that if you believe in something strongly enough, you can achieve amazing things. Earth Hour is not merely an annual event, but is a continuous movement driving real actions to change the world’s use of energy and bring to light human impact on our home, planet Earth.
The Coalition will join the 7th Annual Earth Hour at our new Resource Center located at 206 N. Signal St. #S from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23. Along with participating in this historic event, we will be kicking off our Lights Down, Please project under our Renewables, Energy Efficiency & Lighting Program (REEL).
Come learn how you can take personal steps toward better exterior lighting and, as a Coalition member, help our community turn down its lights. This is an RSVP event and reservations can be emailed to membership@ojaivalleygreencoalition.com or leave a message at (805) 669-8445. Please download the flyer and share it with family, friends and neighbors.
Since 2007 when 2.2 million people took part in the first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, Earth Hour has massively expanded to over 7,000 cities and towns in 152 countries and territories with hundreds of millions of participants across seven continents.
In the USA, nearly 35,000 Girl Scouts took part in Earth Hour last year through the Save Energy Project, and installed 132,141 energy efficient light bulbs across the country. The impact is a staggering 75,392,654 pounds of CO2 emissions eliminated, equivalent to the CO2 sequestration accrued per year from planting 7,286 acres of trees.
Here in Ojai, the Ojai City Council is expected to pass an updated Exterior Lighting Standards Ordinance and we plan to work with the city to support residents and commercial owners as they begin to shift to more appropriate and efficient lighting. Ojai will be one of many cities in California to adopt an exterior light ordinance to help reduce the use of fossil fuels and preserve the dark skies. Los Angeles County recently passed an exterior light ordinance for 1000 square miles of rural area in an effort to stop the encroachment of city lights.
Join the world and the Coalition this March 23 with one hour of dark from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. We’ll meet at 8:00 p.m. for wine and cheese, and then turn off the overhead lights and have a glowing conversation. If you can’t join us, we encourage you to shut off your lights at home and watch the stars from your own backyard. You can get more information about Earth Hour here.