Earth Hour this Saturday: Ann Arbor encourages residents and businesses to shut lights off for 1 hour

Ann Arbor officials are once again encouraging residents and businesses to take part in the annual worldwide observance of Earth Hour this Saturday.

It's this simple: Turn off all unnecessary lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

City officials said streetlights along one block of Main Street will be turned off during Earth Hour as a demonstration of Ann Arbor's commitment to fighting greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, in addition to practicing year-round energy conservation at municipal buildings and street fixtures.

For public safety reasons, other streetlights and traffic lights will not be turned off.

"Earth Hour is another way to highlight Ann Arbor's commitment to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and raise awareness on how citizens and government play a part in addressing climate change," Mayor John Hieftje said.

Participating residents and businesses can officially sign up at EarthHour.org and pledge to turn off lights for one hour.

Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 as a one-city environmental campaign and has grown into a grassroots initiative with participants across the globe. Ann Arbor joined the effort in 2008 as one of 371 cities in 35 countries to participate in Earth Hour.

According to EarthHour.org, hundreds of millions of people switched their lights off for an hour in 2012 as Earth Hour took place in more than 7,000 cities and towns in more than 150 countries and territories across all seven continents.

While the event itself is largely symbolic, and even questioned by some, many are pushing to move beyond the symbolism of Earth Hour.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, lighting accounts for roughly 22 percent of U.S. electricity consumption and is a significant contributor to the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.

The Ann Arbor City Council this month adopted a resolution supporting Earth Hour, saying the Ann Arbor community is deeply concerned about the impacts of climate disruption and believes energy efficiency and natural resource conservation are important in combating climate change.

• Read the resolution.

Information on Ann Arbor's energy goals and programs is available at www.a2gov.org/energy and ways for residents and businesses to take energy action are found at www.a2energy.org.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.