Lights out for some West Islanders on March 29

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

Residents of some West Island municipalities should expect a dark day on March 29 – or at least one dark hour.

Beaconsfield, Dorval and Kirkland passed resolutions at their recent council meetings to participate in Earth Hour on March 29. Beginning at 8 p.m., the three municipalities, along with international cities like Sydney, Chicago, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv, and Toronto, will switch all essential lighting off for one hour to raise awareness about energy consumption.

“It’s just one more opportunity to say, hey, let’s slow down. Let’s stop and look at this,” Beaconsfield Mayor Bob Benedetti said, adding he hopes residents will make a point to participate. According to councillor Kate Coulter, other West Island municipalities will also be passing similar resolutions. Pointe Claire Mayor Bill McMurchie confirmed Earth Hour will be on council’s agenda in the coming weeks.

Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia last year when, on March 31, 2.2 million residents, 2,100 business and even national monuments like the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, turned their lights off for one hour. The result was that Sydney’s energy consumption was lowered by just over 10 per cent, which, according to Earth Hour’s official website, is the equivalent to taking 48,000 cars off the road for 60 minutes.

Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau said it is small initiatives like Earth Hour that will help sensitize people to the importance of being environmentally conscious.

“We have to look at our environment. We have to look at different things, whether it’s garbage, compost, or car idling. I found this is a good idea. Really, there is no cost to it,” he said. “The more events like this, the more activities like this we do, the more aware people will be.”

For more information, visit www.earthhour.org.

PULLQUOTE: “We have to look at our environment. We have to look at different things, whether it’s garbage, compost, or car idling.” – Edgar Rouleau