PECO Building Powers Down Saturday Night In Honor Of 'Earth Hour'
By Kim Glovas
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, many cities and towns around the globe will be observing Earth Hour. It was created by the World Wildlife Fund to raise awareness about climate change.
On it's website, the World Wildlife Fund states, "Dare the World to Save the Planet." The idea is to turn off the lights for one hour. PECO is taking part in the event.
"From 8:30 until 9:30, the iconic Crown Lights atop PECO's main office building in the Center City of Philadelphia will be going dark in support of Earth Hour. We're joining the city of Philadelphia to support this effort which is building global awareness around environmentalism and sustainability," says PECO spokesman Ben Armstrong.
He says the event is a way to encourage energy users to turn off non-essential devices including lights or unplugging appliances that aren't being used. He says more information on saving energy is available at peco.com/smartideas.
Kaya Chatterjee is the direcgtor of Climate Policy with the World Wildlife Fund.
"It is a symbolic event that gives people a chance to stand up and say that they want to protect the planet."
She says famous icons around the globe like the Eiffel Tower to the Las Vegas Strip will go dark to demonstrate the concerns of those cities about climate change. And individuals are on board too.
"People are turning out their porch lights, businesses are participating, and it just gives people a sense that they're not alone in caring. There's a huge movement out there, that is realy worried about this issue. And this year we actually have 7 thousand cities participating around the world."
Earth Hour started in 2007 in one city: Sydney, Australia.
