How to Celebrate Earth Hour 2013 in Toronto or Anywhere

Celebrate Earth Hour 2013 in Toronto, or anywhere, in ways that are limited only by your imagination for earth-friendly activities.

(Added March 28, 2014): Read my “Earth Hour 2014 in Toronto” article for the updated information.

What is Earth Hour? What are Typical Earth Hour Activities?

"A Bicycle in Winter Snow in Arlington, Virginia" image by *Sally M* (Sally Mahoney)
“A Bicycle in Winter Snow in Arlington, Virginia” image by *Sally M* (Sally Mahoney)

Exactly what is Earth Hour?

Earth Hour is one hour dedicated to preserving a healthy planet.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) inspired the first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Many still think of it as “WWF Earth Hour”, and the Earth Hour organization’s site often links to the WWF.

In many ways, Earth Hour is a symbolic gesture. Even a drastic one-hour reduction in energy consumption won’t save the planet. But participating does help raise awareness for yourself and among your friends and neighbours.

What are some typical Earth Hour activities?

The most common way to celebrate Earth Hour is to get away from the power grid for sixty minutes. Turn off the TV; stop surfing the Web; shut off the lights and use candles or flashlights with rechargeable batteries.

Those were pretty negative suggestions: “turn off” and “shut down”.

Here are positive Earth Hour activities: walk around the block; ride a bicycle; chat with your neighbours. Despite the picture, the weather forecast for the day of 2013 Earth Hour in Toronto boils down to “cold but clear”; we should be able to bike in Toronto on March 23, 2013 without pedalling through snowbanks.

We should be aware of the recommendation from Toronto Fire Services: use a flashlight rather than candles. If you do light a candle against the darkness, don’t leave it unattended in a room. (Especially if you have cats that explore the place where you left the candle)! Thanks to 680 News for carrying their full set of candle safety tips for Earth Hour.

When is Earth Hour 2013?

We Canadians celebrate Earth Hour 2013 on Saturday evening, March 23 from 8:30-9:30pm in our local time zone. That’s the same time for Earth Hour in the USA and also in Australia, the first country to mark Earth Hour.

What is Earth Day? When is Earth Day 2013?

(Updated this section April 6, 2013): What is Earth Day? Earth Day is much the same as Earth Hour but it lasts longer and occurs on different days. Earth Day Canada seems to say that April is “Earth Month“, and lists events for various cities throughout that time. However, they seem to claim that the official annual Earth Day falls on April 22nd.
It can restore the balance between beneficial intestinal bacteria and viagra in dechechland opportunistic infection (harmful bacteria, yeast, parasites), can reduce pain, cramps, gas, bile reflux, heartburn, and bile diarrhea. The only reason why people buy http://djpaulkom.tv/5-unbelievable-but-definitely-true-details-about-57/ buy viagra prescription . If your thoughts are negative, you attract negative people canadian viagra sales and events into your world to match that inner image. Altogether problem may increase by increased size of colon gets increases and it further puts you in annoying situation where you need to fight with internal problems. order generic cialis
When is Earth Day 2013 in Toronto? According to Toronto City Hall, the 2013 Earth Day in Toronto will take two days to “clean Toronto together”. Toronto Earth Day activities on Friday April 19 include the school and corporate clean-up. Saturday April 20 is reserved for the community clean-up Earth Day activities. It seems that one sponsor of the 2013 Toronto Clean-up is “Glad Garbage Bags”.

Earth Week 2013 in Peel Region and Beyond

(Added this section April 6, 2013): I’ve also seen hints that Earth Week 2013 will run from April 16-23, 2013. The Region of Peel Public Works Calendar cites a fortnight, from April 15 through 29, as the two week period “to raise public awareness about environmental issues”.

I’m beginning to think that Earth Day and Earth Week are a bit of a free-for-all. If your proposed annual activity to improve the planet takes more than one Earth Day, just declare Earth Week to begin about a week before that date. Adjust to suit your weekday or weekend schedule.

What about Earth Hour for Kids? Are there Earth Hour Activities for Children?

Parents can easily include their children in age-appropriate Earth Hour Activities. Walk around the neighbourhood. Talk about how long it takes to earn the money to pay the electric utility bill, or to refill the car’s gas tank.

As well, the Earth Hour organization provides several Earth Hour kids’ games and activities on their “Earth Hour Kids Fun Stuff” page. The Pocoyo online game aims to clean up the earth’s oceans. Another game involves turning off virtual lights by a deadline. More artistic children might prefer making and decorating a virtual lantern to share with their friends. As they say, “And there’s more”; but that gives you an idea.

Celebrating the 2013 Earth Hour in Toronto

On March 21, 2013, the Toronto Star reported that Karyn Klaire Koski is an Earth Hour Team Captain for a WWF-organized concert in the Roncesvalles Village in Toronto. The neighbourhood lantern walk starts at 8pm; the concert is at Wright Ave. and Roncesvalles, about half-way between Queen St. West and Bloor Street.

This seems to be the single official 2013 Earth Hour event in Toronto. As noted earlier, the emphasis is on making the change at home in your own life, rather than on congregating for a mass rally.

How to Honour Earth Hour Every Day

Really the main idea is to honour Earth Hour by using fewer non-renewable resources on an ongoing basis. This may include walking rather than driving for short errands; bicycling to work or commuting by public transit; or watching less TV. In fact, taking Earth Hour to heart could improve your health and fitness.

Of course, another classic way to keep an event alive is by wearing commemorative Earth Hour t shirts.

Wear a keepsake to remind yourself and others to protect our planet every day. Earth Hour T Shirts via Amazon include the Earth Day 40th Anniversary Tee which also are available to Canadian customers. The Juniors Recycle Earth Day T-Shirt is pre-shrunk cotton, sporting a green three-curved-arrow recycling logo.

Looking for More Annual Toronto Events?

Check the “annual events” or “Toronto events” categories toward the end of the left-hand menu. We’d like to cover all Toronto summer attractions, and indeed all special events in Toronto; especially for Canadian holidays.

Disclaimer: DeHaan Services has no relationship to the organizer(s); I am not reimbursed for writing this article. However, DeHaan Services does write web site or advertising copy for clients. Our skills are demonstrated in online articles in Decoded Science and other web sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlights these online articles on this site.

Thanks for reading about celebrating Earth Hour 2013 in Toronto…or anywhere.

One thought on “How to Celebrate Earth Hour 2013 in Toronto or Anywhere”

Comments are closed.