It could be `lights out' for one hour to save energy
Alison Hewitt
San Bernadino Sun

A budding "lights out" movement could darken Los Angeles County for one hour in October.
The effort, which began in Australia and has gained traction in San Francisco, got a local boost from county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke when she introduced a motion this week supporting "Lights Out Los Angeles." The idea is to turn off as many lights as is safely possible in and around government buildings, businesses, homes and public landmarks in order to reduce pollution and raise awareness of the need to save energy, Burke said.

"In one hour, you could save as much as 15 percent of the energy used on an average Saturday," Burke said. Her motion proposed synchronizing Lights Out Los Angeles with Lights Out San Francisco, where City Hall, the Golden Gate Bridge and other landmarks have already agreed to go dark from 8 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 20.

If Burke's motion is approved, county buildings would join in switching off their lights. In the city of Los Angeles, Councilwoman Wendy Greuel introduced a similar motion that would darken city structures. Landmarks such as the pillars of light at Los Angeles International Airport could also go dark, according to Burke's office. The Hollywood sign is also on the list of candidates - but the sign isn't lit up, said Betsy Isroelit of the Hollywood Sign Trust.

The movement started when San Francisco resident Nate Tyler found out about Sydney, Australia's Earth Hour. In Sydney, the one-hour event reduced pollution as much as taking 48,000 cars off the road for an hour, Burke said.

San Francisco and Los Angeles will be Tyler's trial runs for a national event on March 29 - the same day as Earth Hour. Tyler hopes it will become an annual effort. "What we're encouraging or inviting people to do is turn off all nonessential lighting to save energy, and to install one compact fluorescent lightbulb to save energy," he said. "It's a simple thing that people can do to take action in the fight against climate change."

Streetlights and stoplights and other lights needed for safety should of course stay on, Tyler said. Beyond that, it's up to people to decide for themselves whether they will simply remember to turn off the lights when they leave a room, he said.

http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_7021458