Lights Out During Earth Hour March 23

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in Earth Hour Saturday, March 23, to raise awareness and facilitate positive action for climate change.

From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local Chicago time, people all around the world will turn off lights and electronics in a symbolic event promoting practices for a cleaner and more energy-efficient planet. This year’s theme is “Uniting people to protect the planet.”

“While unnecessary lights and electronics should always be turned off when not in use, on this date we need to be even more conscientious,” said Robert Whittier, director of sustainability at Northwestern.

Whittier also stressed the importance of considering changes one can make daily to reduce energy consumption and positively impact the environment. 

Students, faculty and staff can commit to making healthy and sustainable choices to benefit themselves and Northwestern by taking the “sustainNU green pledge."

To learn more about Northwestern’s commitment to the environment, visit the Office of Sustainability website.

In 2012, Earth Hour took place in more than 7,000 cities and towns in 152 countries and territories across the world and involved hundreds of millions of people switching their lights and electronics off for the hour.

Earth Hour, which began in 2007, is supported by a network of corporations, non-governmental organizations and nonprofit organizations and is organized by the World Wildlife Fund, one of the world’s largest conservation organizations.