Carrboro will go dark for Earth Hour

Earth Day may be in April, but some Carrboro residents are getting a head start. Town residents will turn their lights off between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on March 25.

Organized by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour is an annual voluntary environmental movement where millions of people globally switch off their lights to encourage climate change action.

The event, which started in Sydney, Australia, has expanded to become the world’s largest demonstration that raises awareness for climate change. In 2016, 178 countries broke the record of mass participation for landmarks and businesses switching off their lights, climate change petition collection and social media activity.

David Zucchino, a Durham resident and contract writer for the New York Times, said he believes that this event is important because it gets people to pay attention to just the environment for an hour.

“Especially now that we have a president who denies climate change and seems determined to roll back on any sort of environmental protection, the timing is perfect,” Zucchino said.

Carrboro Board of Aldermen member Jacquelyn Gist said that this event is significant for the sake of wildlife, aesthetics and climate change action.

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen has encouraged members of the community to take part in Earth Hour for several years.

“It shows that these things matter and when the town takes part in it, it demonstrates that these are issues are important to us and to the residents of Carrboro,” Gist said.

Gist said this event is very much in line with Carrboro’s vision for the environment and good stewardship.

“Carrboro has, for a long time, valued the environment, and we try to do that in lots of ways in our zoning and in how the town conducts its own business,” Gist said.

Carrboro Board of Aldermen member Randee Haven-O’Donnell said Carrboro maintains an environmentally conscious atmosphere.

Haven-O’Donnell compared Carrboro to a doughnut, with forests and creeks in the center and the rest of the town surrounding it.

“Because we have a fairly long history that is aligned with the environment, this movement with these countries have values that are deeply embedded in Carrboro since the second half of the 20th century,” Haven-O’Donnell said.

Haven-O’Donnell has been diligently working to get more community members involved and hopes to turn off the street lights for 2018’s Earth Hour.

When asked if Earth Hour connects with Carrboro’s values, Zucchino said that if there’s one place in the whole state he would predict an event like this to occur, it would be Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

“Earth Hour is an excellent way for Carrboro to connect with the global effort to recognize climate change and the raving attention of the public to energy issues and environmental issues,” Haven-O’Donnell said.

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