Earth Hour 2009 Follow-Up

A couple of weeks ago, we gave you some information on how to participate in Earth Hour.

For those still in the dark (pun intended,) the event took place on Saturday from 8:30-9:30 p.m. People were asked to turn their lights off in order to conserve energy and although it was mainly to create environmental awareness, the media turned Earth Hour into a full-fledged event.

On CBC, twitter messages scrolled across the bottom of the screen as a clock counted down to 8:30 p.m. Once Earth Hour was underway, the network switched to shots of the Toronto and Ottawa skylines – both dark and dimly-lit.

So how did we do compared to other provinces?

During Earth Hour, Ontario consumed over six-per-cent less energy, according to the independent electricity systems operator. Toronto alone cut their power-usage by 15.1-per-cent. In comparison, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia recorded roughly one-per-cent drops. Alberta (a province that saw energy consumption rise during Earth Hour last year) had a small decrease while Manitoba experienced a surge: Manitoba Hydro blames this on furnace useage due to chilly temperatures.

I’m still looking for figures on Windsor and will update this post when I find them.