Historic Downtown Icons Go Dark for “Earth Hour”
Occasion marked with a range of activities

News Release

For Immediate Release

Contact:	Beth Gorman (Pima County) (520) 243-7446, (520) 603-0358 (c)
	Nicole Urban-Lopez (City of Tucson) (520) 837-6934, (520) 400-0089 (c)
	Connie Walker (National Optical Astronomy Observatory) (520) 318-8535, (520) 331-2448 (c)
	Kurt Tallis (4th Avenue Merchants Association) (520) 624-5004

Tucson, Arizona (March 25, 2009) The lights on the iconic dome of the old Pima County Courthouse and the Fox Theater marquee will be turned off on Saturday, March 28th as local businesses, agencies, and volunteers join over 1,800 communities in 80 countries across the globe in observing the international “Earth Hour.” From the Roman Coliseum to the Las Vegas Strip and the Pyramids in Egypt to the Seattle Space Needle, cities around the world will darken their skylines and turn off famed landmarks from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. to demonstrate their support for climate change action.

Locally, the City of Tucson, Pima County, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory/Kitt Peak National Observatory, the University of Arizona (UA), the International Dark-Sky Association, theTucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA), and the 4th Avenue Merchants Association are planning activities and working together to encourage the community to turn off unnecessary lights, and to become more energy efficient in their homes and businesses. In addition, residents are invited to take part in a variety of observances around the Tucson area.

“We hope that the symbolic act of turning off the lights in the Fox Theater marquee and the historic Pima County Courthouse will inspire us all to support local initiatives to reduce climate change and become more energy efficient in our daily lives,” said Beth Gorman of Pima County’s Department of Environmental Quality. The generation of electricity from fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, releases greenhouse gases and other air pollutants into the atmosphere, which contribute to global warming and causes health problems for those at risk in our community.

In addition, wasted light that is emitted into the atmosphere creates a “sky glow effect” that obscures the ability to observe the night skies. Increasingly, studies are finding that unshielded and excessive night lighting can cause adverse human health effects and interfere with natural wildlife movement and behavior.

Initiated by the World Wildlife Fund, the Earth Hour event began in Sydney, Australia in 2007 with 2 million people switching off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the planet participated in Earth Hour. This year, the event aims to reach 1 billion people. Nine of the 10 most populated cities in the world have already signed on to “turn off” during Earth Hour 2009. Participating cities span over 80 countries and include Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Mexico City, London, Beijing, Moscow, Toronto, Singapore, Istanbul and Rome.

Local Activities

Downtown

To demonstrate the City’s and County’s commitment to making a positive impact on global climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the County is turning off the lights of the old historic Courthouse Dome, the County Administration Building, Superior Court, and Health and Welfare Building, while the City of Tucson is flipping the switch on City Hall and the historic Fox Theater marquee.

Fourth Avenue

Musical ambience, candlelight dinners, and “dark” beverages and food specials will await those visiting Fourth Avenue on Earth Hour. 4th Avenue will celebrate Earth Hour with live free music on the Avenue from 7pm to 10pm at Winset Outdoor Performance Center. Located at 316 N. 4th Avenue (next to Bison Witches), the park will come alive with music and go dark for one hour between 8:30pm to 9:30pm in observance of Earth Hour. For more information call 520-624-5004 or visit www.fourthavenue.org

At least two restaurants on the Avenue are offering dark specials in honor of Earth Hour. Bison Witches located at 326 N. 4th Avenue will be having Dark Guinness Draft beer specials all night long on their candlelit patio. Call 520-740-1541 or visit www.bisonwitches.org for details. Enjoy more darkness in the form of food and drink at Delectables Restaurant. Dark beer, blackened salmon and a dark fired sugar crust on a crème brulee are a few of the many offerings during Earth Hour. Established in 1973, which is back in the dark ages of Fourth Avenue Delectables is located at 533 N. 4th Avenue. Call 520 884-9289 or visit www.delectables.com for details.

UA Mall and Sabino Canyon

The University of Arizona Residence Life, along with the Union Gallery, will be hosting activities that include arts and crafts, games, and entertainment. This event will take place between 8:30 and 9:30 pm on the U of A Mall.

In addition, there will be an Earth Hour “Star Party” on the U of A Mall, just south of the UA Science Center (also known as Flandrau). This star party will be hosted by the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA), the UA’s Steward Observatory Public Evening Series Lectures, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. TAAA astronomers will set up telescopes and share their expertise with families who want to learn more about the night sky.

Also, TAAA along with Friends of Sabino Canyon will be hosting a second star party in Sabino Canyon. Both star party events are free and open to the public. Join us at either location from 7:30 to 9:30 pm under the stars, after you have unplugged your unused electronics and turned off your lights!

Various locations throughout Southern Arizona

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory/Kitt Peak National Observatory has alerted its network of educators, students, families and citizen scientists in southern Arizona and around the world to make observations of the night sky before, during, and after the Earth Hour event, as part of the last night of a two-week campaign called GLOBE at Night (http://www.globe.gov/GaN/). GLOBE at Night engages people around the world in measuring the quality of the night sky in their local communities, thereby increasing the awareness of the value of dark night skies. .Now in its fourth year, the GLOBE at Night 2009 effort has extra impetus this year due to its status as a featured program within a cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009). For more on IYA2009, which has major leadership of its U.S. program based in Tucson, see www.astronomy2009.us.

4 Tips For Efficient Night Time Lighting

To protect Tucson’s beautiful dark skies while providing outdoor lighting for visibility and safety, consider these four tips:

1. Purchase shields for lights for all outdoor lighting to control where the light is directed.
2. Once the light is redirected to only where it is needed, you can lower the wattage.
3. Use only the amount of light you need to get the job done.
4. Use timers, dimmers, and sensors to darken unoccupied areas. Shut off lights when you can.

When a shield redirects light to only where light is needed, one can use less wattage to get the same illumination as before the shield. This saves everyone money, reduces our energy usage and shrinks our carbon footprint. Solar powered lights are even better, as long as they, too, are shielded to direct the light only where it is needed. Follow manufacturer’s instructions when installing lights and shields, or hire a professional to install them. Work with your neighbors and local government to keep the light on the ground and the skies naturally dark. It will save money while preserving a valuable natural resource.

10 Tips to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions at Home and at Work

Making a few small changes in your home and at work can lead to big reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and save money. Below is a list of actions households and businesses can consider for reducing their energy consumption:

Households:

1. Switch off unused lights.
2. Turn unused appliances off and unplug when possible.
3. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs
4. Reduce use of hot water and use water efficiently
5. Switch to Green Power

Businesses:

1. Replace light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs
2. Be more efficient with heating and cooling
3. Reduce use of hot water
4. Turn off light, monitors and computers when not in use
5. Educate your colleagues on energy efficiency

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