SCR 15 seeks to declare the hour of 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday in March to be “Earth Hour” throughout the state.
SCR 15 encourages city, county and state employees, and businesses to turn off non-essential lights in government buildings, public schools, public landmarks and other buildings for that hour on March 28.
In presenting SCR 15 for the Feb. 26 vote, Wiggins said, “As you may know, Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, back in 2007 to promote climate change awareness and what started as a small local effort has become an international phenomenon with over 1,000 cities and 75 countries participating around the globe in 2009.
“By promoting the worldwide event and calling on all Californians to participate, we can further contribute to reducing green house gases and help bring awareness to over 35 million Californians on how they can contribute to fighting global warming,” she added. “I encourage everyone to join me in this effort and do all you can to promote this important world wide event in your district.”
When she introduced SCR 15 in February, Wiggins said that it was imperative “that we, as a global community bring, together a diverse group of community, municipal, corporate and nongovernmental organizations to heighten awareness about climate change, and to inspire consumers and businesses to take practical actions to reduce their own carbon footprints.”
She said climate change is a global problem, requiring a multitude of solutions that must be implemented by the entire global community. “Earth Hour symbolizes a commitment towards that goal.”
In 2008, Earth Hour was recognized in more than 300 cities and 35 countries around the world. Such iconic landmarks as the Empire State Building (New York City), Sears Tower (Chicago), Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco), Bank of America Plaza (Atlanta), Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia), Wat Arun Buddhist Temple (Bangkok, Thailand), the Colosseum (Rome, Italy), Royal Castle (Stockholm, Sweden), London's City Hall (England), Space Needle (Seattle) and the CN Tower (Toronto, Canada) all had their non-essential lighting turned off for one hour.
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