Out go the lights

Are you willing to sit in the dark for an hour this Saturday evening in order to prove that people can join together to combat climate change?

That’s the idea behind Earth Hour, a global initiative taking place on March 29 from

8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The effort – spearheaded in Sydney, Australia last year by the World Wildlife Fund – has spread this year to include places around the world such as Chicago, Tel Aviv, Manila, Copenhagen, Melbourne and Brisbane, to name a few.

In Canada, 49,192 people had registered to participate on an Earth Hour website as of Monday.

Canadian cities involved in the effort include Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto (though only 800 Montrealer had registered thus far.)

In the off-island region, many town officials say they did not know about it in time to pass resolutions supporting the gesture, seen by many as largely symbolic.

Hudson mayor Elizabeth Corker is one who had not heard of the event when reached for comment on Monday.

“I’m not aware that the town will do anything,” she said, adding that she wouldn’t have any problem going dark in her own home.

“We did it for 12 days during the ice storm, so an hour is nothing,” she said laughing.

Go Green Hudson, a volunteer group of people trying to raise awareness about environmental issues is spreading the Earth Hour message this week.

Participant Chantal Girard said members will distribute posters around town, trying to get as many people as possible to turn out the lights.

For her part, Girard says she’ll light candles and play games, sing songs or tell stories with her children.

St. Lazare town counsellor Paul Laflamme said he’d bring up the topic during a Tuesday evening caucus meeting, and encourage fellow counsellors to participate.

Because of the timing it was too late to notify residents about the initiative, said Laflamme.

“We may let the 1,300 people who get our electronic newsletters know about it,” he added.

Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue mayor Bill Tierney, on the other hand, wholeheartedly supports the event. He says town officials have been planning to participate for several months.

“We’re asking everybody to go dark and think about saving energy,” Tierney said.

The town has also identified potential security issues that could arise while the lights are out, and have asked Montreal police and public security officers to be on hand while things are dark.

For safety reasons, street lights will not be darkened during the hour.

Vaudreuil-Dorion will not join the effort, said mayor Guy Pilon, who did not know about the event when contacted on Monday.

“It’s the first time I’ve heard about it,” he said. “I would give it a try though, it may increase awareness.”

As many as six West Island town plus several boroughs have also said they will participate.

For more information or to sign up to participate to: www.earthhour.org