What will you do for Earth Hour, at 8:30 p.m. on March 26? Music by candlelight? Some quiet time with friends?
Or maybe all the lights blazing, stereo too loud, and an electric fondue beside the hot tub?
That, of course, would be your prerogative, but we really hope Rosslanders will forego the usual electricity-sapping trappings of modern life, if only for this one hour.
Not only would it be a symbollic gesture towards conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but this year there is the possibility of a very tangible benefit for our community, too.
As the Rossland News reports in this edition (check page 5 if you haven’t already), the Rossland Museum could be the beneficiary of $5,000 worth of energy-efficiency upgrades from FortisBC, provided enough city residents take an online pledge to power down for that particular hour and then actually do so.
Rossland is competing against the likes of Creston and the Slocan Valley. Surely we can muster the community spirit to give them a good run for this money.
Even if you’re not interested in backing your local entry in some friendly inter-city competition, there is another reason to participate: Taking the “Earth Hour Pledge” means you are automatically entered to win a weekend getaway at a resort in Kelowna.
So if not for the environment, if not for Rossland, power down this Earth Hour for yourself.
— Rossland News