Turn Out Your Lights for Earth Hour

On March 28 at 8:30 pm, a billion people in 1,500 cities will turn off the lights for Earth Hour to show their commitment to reducing global warming. Even landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge, and Sydney’s Opera House will go dark in support of this showdown between Earth and global warming.

Earth Hour originally began in Sydney in 2007 when 2.2 million of the city’s residents turned off their lights.  Last year, over 50 million people joined in on the darkness. Chicago alone reported an electricity savings of 7 percent for the hour, the equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the road for an hour or planting 158 acres of trees. This year numerous hotels and restaurants are signing on to the cause and dimming their lights.

The Four Seasons will be part of a 24-hour global candlelight dinner event where 36 properties will create a chain of candlelight dinners around the globe, starting with the Four Seasons in Sydney Australia.

St Julien Hotel & Spa in Boulder, CO  is hosting the city’s official “Candle-Lit Earth Hour Happy Hour,” featuring free live entertainment and candle-lit dinner.

The Fairmont Royal York (which grows its own vegetables on the roof) is going all out, turning off its iconic sign and lighting 100 floating candles. In the hotel’s Library Bar, guests will sip custom cocktails by candlelight: The Polar Cap, the Carbon Footprint and the Organic Globe martini. Room cards will come with tiny book lights so that guests can still find their way around.

Click here to sign up for Earth Hour and to find more ideas on how to spread the darkness on March 28.