Richmond will be a whole lot dimmer come Saturday evening.
The fourth annual Earth Hour is starting at 8:30 p.m., and the city is urging Richmondites to flick off the switch -- and to leave it off as much as possible afterwards.
"Just asking people for one hour is one thing, but we hope we raise awareness and look at other ways to support sustainability," said city of Richmond spokesperson Ted Townsend.
Richmond City Hall will have its lights turned off during the hour. The City urges Richmond residents to do their part as well.
Richmond came 16th out of 71 cities and towns in the province last year in energy saved, but it couldn't have been worse then Richmond's showing the year before -- coming second last to only New Westminister.
In 2009 Richmond saved 0.3 per cent of energy on Earth Hour, but last year saved eight times that at 2.4 per cent, beating out cities like Vancouver, White Rock, Victoria, Surrey and Burnaby.
Townsend believes these events help encourage the public to be more environmentally aware. "It's done in small steps," said Townsend. "The vast majority of reducing energy is accomplished one bulb at a time."
And Sears is helping Richmond go green, only with two bulbs at a time.
Their locations at Richmond Centre and Sweden Way are selling 2-packs of energy saving light bulbs -- Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs -- for $4.60, almost half off the original suggested retail price for Earth Hour.
All proceeds from the bulbs are going towards the Canadian branch of the World Wildlife Fund, the organizer of Earth Hour.
Other Richmond stores that have officially "pledged" their support on Earth Hour's website is Canadian Tire, Airport Executive Park, St. Edwards Crossing, the Canadian Standards Association Building and the Delta Vancouver Airport hotel.
The hotel is also hosting a free candlelit event from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the hotel lobby, which will involve a professional storyteller Melanie Ray, musical performance from Rachael Chatoor.
The hotel's restaurant, Pier 73, will also be serving a special raw fish menu during the hour and serve environmentally sustainable foods for weeks after as well.
Earth Hour started in Australia in 2007 and spread worldwide a year later. Last year 128 countries took part, reaching 1.3 billion people, and 10 million Canadians.
Head to www.wwf.ca to learn more about Earth Hour.
