To show support for the worldwide Earth Hour initiative, Western’s Physical Plant Division is asking the university community to turn off non-essential lighting and electronics on March 27 at 8:30 p.m. Western is going dark for one hour to demonstrate the power of that individual actions.
“We recognize that we rely heavily on our constituents at Western’s to make energy conservation work on campus,” says Physical Plant Communications Officer, Brandon Watson. “Switching off your lights is probably one of the most fundamental acts of conservation and Earth Hour is a good reminder of that.”
Physical Plant caretaking staff will switch off all non-essential lighting as they perform their duties. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to turn off lights and electronics on Friday when leaving for the weekend.
Housing Services sees residences – home to thousands of students – as key components in marking Earth Hour. Last year, students needed little encouragement, organizing events around Earth Hour and dousing lights, computers and televisions.
Following Earth Hour, Physical Plant will share some of the stories and pictures from residence events on the Environment & Sustainability website (www.uwo.ca/ppd/sustainability) along with the energy savings data.
More than 10 million Canadians and thousands of businesses participated last year in more than 275 cities. At Western, energy savings followed the Ontario average with a consumption drop of six per cent.
Western is on the leading edge of lighting technology. The Social Sciences Building is a testing ground for initiatives and soon the successful programs will roll out across campus. Daylight harvesting and occupancy sensors have been introduced to most common areas.