Landmarks go dark for ‘Earth Hour’

LOS ANGELES –  City Hall went dark Saturday night, joining iconic buildings and landmarks in Southern California and around the world in recognition of “Earth Hour,” an annual exercise to raise awareness of climate change.

At 9:30 p.m. Saturday, following the “lights off” hour, City Hall was lit green.

“As we continue to build a greener Los Angeles, we are proud that City Hall is joining landmarks and buildings in Los Angeles and across the globe as they shut off their lights for one hour,” said Mayor Karen Bass.

LA City Hall went dark Saturday night, joining landmarks in Southern California and around the world in recognition of Earth Hour. Image: earth_embrace/IG

In addition to LA City Hall observing Earth Hour, other city buildings and famous landmarks across Los Angeles participated in the global observation of Earth Hour. Los Angeles International Airport turned off its iconic gateway pylons. The pylons, which line 1 1/2 miles of Century Boulevard and ring the entrance to LAX, were lit green before going dark.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s John Ferraro Building shut off all nonessential lighting during Earth Hour, according to Bass’ office.

In Santa Monica, the famed Ferris wheel at Santa Monica’s Pacific Park turned off its lights for the event — except for the rim safety lighting. It joined landmarks worldwide including Paris’ Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House and London’s Big Ben.

Earth Hour was started in 2007 by World Wide Fund for Nature as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney. It’s held every year on the last Saturday of March, with supporters in more than 190 countries and territories.

According to organizers, the hour is a “moment of unity that brings the world together, shines a spotlight on nature loss and the climate crisis, and inspires millions more to act and advocate for urgent change.”

While worldwide landmarks go dark, supporters of the movement worldwide are urged to “symbolically switch off and `give an hour for Earth,’ spending 60 minutes doing something — anything — positive for our planet,” organizers said.

Ahead of Earth Day, the Bureau of Street Lighting placed an order for an additional 150 electric vehicle chargers and will begin installation of them in April, targeting many areas of L.A. that lack sufficient EV charging infrastructure, with a target date at the end of July. The 150 chargers are in addition to the more than 700 streetlight chargers already installed throughout the city.

Last week, Bass led a push to build a greener Los Angeles. She signed a first-of-its-kind Letter of Intent with the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland Ville Tavio to promote climate cooperation and economic development between the city of Los Angeles and Finland, and later hosted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan at the Port of Los Angeles to highlight upcoming federal investments in zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure, air quality projects and enhanced efforts to protect the health of communities near U.S. ports.

During her first year in office, she says she has worked urgently to create a greener Los Angeles by securing hundreds of millions of dollars through locking arms with state and federal partners as the city continues to urgently lead on climate.

“More people than ever need to join this year’s Earth Hour to leverage the collective power of individuals and communities,” Kirsten Schuijt, director general of WWF International, said in a statement.

“It’s crucial to get involved, if we want to raise awareness about the environmental challenges and bend the curve of biodiversity loss by 2030,” Schuijt said. “To truly unite millions across the globe, it is important that Earth Hour expands beyond its already massive pool of current supporters and engages with individuals who have not been involved yet.

“Protecting our planet is a shared responsibility and it demands collective action from every corner of society,” she said.

More information about Earth Hour can be found here.