Council marks Earth Hour with energy saving giveaway

We are, are you? That’s the question Councillor Brian Vincent is asking as Plymouth City Council prepares to mark the year’s biggest climate change campaign, World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Earth Hour.

At 8.30pm on Saturday 23rd March, hundreds of millions of people will turn off their lights for one hour, all across the world in a symbolic show of support for green initiatives.

152 countries in all 7 continents, 7,000 towns and cities, and hundreds of famous landmarks will plunge into darkness for an hour as people are asked to ponder one of the most challenging issues in the world today.

Plymouth City Council has participated in Earth Hour for the past four years and will once again switch off all unnecessary lighting in corporate buildings, including the Civic Centre and Midland House.

The WWF campaign asks supporters to make the bargain ‘I will, if you will’; a pledge to inspire green actions long after Earth Hour has finished. This year Councillor Vincent is making a pledge of his own: “We have 100 energy saving packs to give away to Plymouth residents. They contain gadgets and fittings donated by energy companies to help people save money in the home. If all of these are collected, with the promise to use them, we will make sure that there are another 100 available the very next week. And again the week after, if people continue to ask.”

Councillor Mark Lowry, Cabinet Member for Finance added: “Taking part in Earth Hour is a great visual representation of the city’s support for energy saving initiatives. A £13 million carbon cutting plan will bring LED street lights to Plymouth, fit further solar PV panels to corporate buildings and replace inefficient boilers. We must take every action we can to stop waste, cut emissions and protect frontline services.”

The energy saving freebie will be given to the first 100 people who ask at First Stop in the Civic Centre from Monday 25th March. Packs contain a mix of gadgets and may include radiator efficiency reflectors, low energy light bulbs and TV stand-by shutdown adaptors.

You can register for Earth Hour by going to http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/