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	Mayor Menino announces Boston's participation in Earth Hour and continuation of Lights Out Boston
3/10/2009 - Released by Environmental & Energy Services
For more information contact Press Office
Campaigns raise awareness about climate action, energy conservation Building on the successful Lights Out Boston campaign launched last year, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced today that the City of Boston is participating in Earth Hour, an international event to raise awareness about climate change. Organized by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour 2009 asks all participants to extinguish all non-essential lighting on March 28th, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Boston is among over 400 cities worldwide that have pledged to shut off lights for Earth Hour, and today Mayor Menino asked all residents and business to participate by shutting off all non-essential lighting for Earth Hour. March 28th also marks the seasonal launch of the Lights Out Boston program, a campaign that began as a pilot initiative last fall, for the spring bird migration period. “By turning off the lights, we illuminate how local action can address the global challenge of climate change,” Mayor Menino said. “Through the collective action of the community and property owners, we can demonstrate that easy steps can make a big difference in reducing energy use and improving our environment.” Confirmed participants for Earth Hour include a number of Boston’s iconic buildings and structures, such as the Zakim Bridge, the Custom’s House, the Prudential Center, and the Hancock Building. Numerous local universities, business, hotels and neighborhood organizations have already committed to participating in Earth Hour and Mayor Menino invites everyone to join. Earth Hour participants will turn off all non-essential lighting on their properties, especially architectural lighting, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28th. Any lighting that is essential for active use or related to public safety, such as street and emergency lighting, will remain on. If any lights need to remain on for additional functions within the building, organizers ask that the shades be drawn if possible. Earth Hour is a great opportunity for all Boston residents to join city officials and other civic and business leaders in demonstrating the impact of working together to reduce the risk of climate change and to showcase the role of individual contributions to the larger solution. Visit at www.EarthHourUS.org for general information about Earth Hour and a listing of other participating cities. The City of Boston’s participation in Earth Hour 2009 comes after last fall’s successful launch of Lights Out Boston, a voluntary program wherein participating commercial property owners and managers turn off or dim all architectural and internal lighting between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. during the bird migratory season. Mayor Menino today announced the continuation of last fall’s Lights Out Boston program for the spring bird migratory season. Starting March 28, over 30 commercial skyscrapers in Downtown Boston will diminish their lighting in accordance with the initiative during the spring bird migratory season, which ends May 31, 2009. Lights Out Boston aims to save energy, protect migratory birds and set an example that encourages everyone to use energy more efficiently. All Lights Out Boston participants are also leaders in Boston’s commitment to Earth Hour. Lights Out Boston will protect migrating birds, which have difficulty adapting to an urban environment. When a city skyline—especially buildings over 30 stories high—is brightly lit at night, the lights can confuse the birds. Although scientists are unsure of the exact reason for this problem, birds can fly as low as 500 feet during inclement weather, and skyscrapers are the most visible part of the city to migrating birds. To learn more about Earth Hour, Lights Out Boston, and ways to reduce carbon footprints throughout the year, visit the City of Boston’s Environmental and Energy Service’s Department online at www.cityofboston.gov/environmentalandenergy. The City of Boston is a nationally recognized leader in environmental and energy policy. Boston is the first major city in the nation to require all large private construction projects adhere to the US Green Building Council’s LEED standards and is the largest municipal purchaser of wind power in New England. For these efforts, Boston was recently named the 3rd Greenest City in North America by Popular Science Magazine and 6th by SusatinLane.com.

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