Lights go off downtown for an hour to draw awareness to climate change
Saturday, some buildings in Calgary – and around the world – turned off the power for an hour, drawing awareness to how anyone can make positive change for the environment.
Calgary Tower was one of the landmarks to go dark between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, as a gesture of the commitment to action on climate change.
At Central Library, a free family celebration took place, including displays and activities like pedal powered bike generators.
Organizers said Earth Hour is about showing people how even small changes can make a difference for the environment.
"To support people in feeling both connected and empowered," said organizer Jared Blustein. "To take action on climate, so I think too often, we can feel kind of depressed about the state of our climate or climate concerns.
"This is really just about coming together and celebrating and feeling like – a lot of people really care."
Earth Hour was started by the World Wildlife Federation in 2007. 170 countries take part in the program.
Earth Hour celebrations at Central Library in Calgary, March 25, 2023
SAVE NOSE CREEK
Earth Hour also prompted a group called Save Nose Creek to give a tour Saturday. It is advocating for the creek valley to become a national urban park.
The group says it's important to find a balance between development and green space, saying Nose Creek is already unhealthy and development close to the creek could make it worse.
"The watershed needs protecting," said Andrew Yule, of Save Nose Creek. "The biodiversity needs protecting, the history – there's a lot of First Nations and settler history in this valley – and just community green space.
Save Nose Creek is advocating for green space in north central Calgary
"This is north central Calgary and we don't have a lot of green space," he added. "Naturalized green space that we can go to."
The Save Nose Creek advocacy group is hoping to present its case to the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board this year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.