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Conservationists prepare to turn off lights for hour
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal
Published on Monday, Mar 31, 2008
Rich Fein and Carolyn Boyce want lights to go out in Summit County on April 22.
They are spearheadingLightsOut Akron, a new local event for Earth Day to raise awareness of climate change.
Summit County residents, businesses and governments are being asked to turn off nonessential lights from 8 to 9 p.m. April 22.
That action is a simple, first step toward saving energy and reducing greenhouse gases that cause global warming, said Fein, 53, founder of LightsOut Akron and the energy and conservation committee co-chairman of the Sierra Club's Portage Trail Group.
''We are emphasizing that people turn off nonessential lights,'' said Fein, an Akron resident. ''It's a small step . . . but it's a very important effort.''
He said residents and businesses aren't being asked to turn off all the lights.
''You don't need to switch to candle power to be part ofLightsOut,'' he said, ''and we don't want you to do that. . . . We want you to leave one light on — the light in the room you are in. It doesn't take much effort to keep the rest off.''
Boyce, 38, a Munroe Falls resident who's the lead organizer, said LightsOut Akron is designed to rally people to the energy-conservation cause. Plans call for the event to be repeated annually.
Organizing such a campaign is ''more than a little bit daunting,'' she said, '' . . . but the excitement from others keeps me going.''
Fein said volunteers are being recruited to canvass their neighborhoods to get more people involved in LightsOut Akron.
Those interested in participating in the event or in volunteering can sign up at the Web site http://www.lightsoutakron.org.
Information about LightsOutAkron will be available at customer service desks at all Acme Fresh Market stores in Summit County. And Saturday, volunteers will have sign-up tables at six Acme stores: in West Akron, Ellet, Hudson, Cuyahoga Falls, Coventry Township and Bath Township.
''We consider LightsOut Akron to be more than a one-night happening,'' said Jim Trout, vice president of merchandising and sales for Acme Fresh Market. ''It's a simple step toward developing a long-term pro-environmental habit — night after night.''
WAPS-FM 91.3 (The Summit) is another sponsor ofLightsOut Akron.
The first LightsOut program was held Oct. 20 in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
A similar program was held the previous March in Sydney, Australia. Dubbed Earth Hour, it drew 2.2 million participants and reduced energy demands by 10.2 percent for the hour.
Earth Hour was held again at 8 p.m. Saturday in Sydney and 23 other cities around the globe, including Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix and San Francisco.
Fein started looking into creating LightsOut Akron last fall after hearing about the California event.
Measuring the success of the grass-roots effort in Akron will be difficult, he said, but it's important to get people to start thinking about energy conservation and fighting climate change.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
Rich Fein and Carolyn Boyce want lights to go out in Summit County on April 22.
Get the full article here.
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