Lights out -- for an hour to save energy

A lit-up city skyline at night is the quintessential image of urban majesty.

It's also a strain on the energy grid and the environment.

Some operators of older buildings don't even know where the switches are to turn lights off and so leave them on around the clock. Some say it's costlier to turn off these lights and switch them back on regularly.

But with most experts agreeing that increased production of greenhouse gases is accelerating climate change, the folks at the World Wildlife Fund have established Earth Hour to encourage conservation.

More Coverage Video Earth Hour

It started last year when 2.2 million Australians turned off their lights for an hour -- a greenhouse gas reduction that, if extended for a year, would equal the removal of nearly 50,000 cars from the road.

Now the movement goes worldwide, with Chicago among flagship U.S. cities.

"This is a wonderful chance for the American people -- from Chicago, from Illinois -- to send a strong message to the world," WWF spokeswoman Leslie Aun said. "Forget what's going on in Washington. We can tell them, 'We get it. We care.'"

From 8 to 9 p.m. Saturday, buildings that normally light up skylines from Bangkok to Schaumburg to Copenhagen will be dimmed. Landmarks such as the Sears Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge will seem to disappear into the night as non-essential lighting is turned off.

The hope is the darkened skylines will not only symbolize energy reduction but spark real, sustained conservation.

Locally, towns such as Bartlett, Mundelein and Palatine and groups such as Batavians for Clean Energy and Conservation and the Cary Moms Group are joining in and encouraging others to do so.

Corporations are also onboard: McDonald's says it will switch off its Golden Arches locally. Many downtown hotels are making an event of it: Swissotel is hosting a candlelit chocolate party for guests, and a wedding taking place in its penthouse has agreed to play along.

Besides turning off lights, some are powering down iPhones and cutting themselves off from the Internet.

"We had residents come on our Web site and ask if we were aware of the event and would help get the word out," Bartlett Assistant Administrator Paula Schumacher said. "They're really excited by it."

Elsewhere, the Chicago theater district will darken marquees with a "spell" cast by a "Wicked" witch.

But whether the initiative has the desired impact depends on the willingness of the public to commit to sacrifices beyond Earth Hour.

"It's not that easy," Aun said.

From Down Under

Seeing landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House go dark profoundly affected Australians, Aun said. And it convinced the WWF to take the event global.

"Climate change" has replaced "global warming" as the preferred way to describe how industrialization and pollutants affect the world.

"It's about more than just electricity. It's about respect for the planet and environment in general," said Sheridan Turner, president and CEO of Glenview's Kohl Children's Museum.

The museum will dim its parking lot and signs and has rescheduled cleaning crews so internal lights can remain off. The museum already backs green initiatives, including using a wind-powered turbine to light parts of its building.

At home, Turner suggests youngsters play games like hide-and-seek or use flashlights for story time that night. Families might even try something novel: face-to-face conversations.

"This is great, quality family time -- a time to talk about what you did when you didn't have all the televisions, and all the electronic gizmos your houses and closets have," Turner said.

ComEd, which supplies electricity to the Chicago area, supports conservation efforts, said Executive Vice President Anne Pramaggiore.

She suggested residents take the time to replace old light bulbs with more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. She wouldn't say how much energy some of the larger participants will save, saying ComEd couldn't reveal customers' usage without their consent.

Motorola will shut down power at its Schaumburg headquarters and is working with its facilities around the globe to plan participation elsewhere.

And on the North Side, a rare sight will be the Cubs' Wrigley Field marquee -- usually lit up 24/7 -- shut off, possibly until Sunday, said Senior Community Affairs Vice President Mike Lufrano.

Last year's event reminded some Sydney businesses where their "off" switches are and, subsequently, they are turning the lights off more regularly, Aun said.

Green giants

Ross Whitehead of Inverness has already registered to participate at the Web site earthhour.org.

The 21-year-old Harper College student plans to attend festivities marking the event at Columbia College in Chicago. He wants others in the suburbs to join him.

"More people in the suburbs have bigger homes," Whitehead said. "They're going to have more appliances, which need more power."

Though Aun said Earth Hour's focus will be on cities like Chicago with their iconic skylines, she wants everyone to participate.

"You don't have to be a city or a big community. You don't need a charter. All you have to do it turn your lights off from 8 to 9," Aun said.

Katherine McCall, 23, of Palatine knows it might be a tough sell in the suburbs.

"We live in a fairly conservative group of suburbs with a whole lot of affluent people who aren't going to feel like this is going to make a difference," she said.

But she still thinks Earth Hour can captivate America.

"We all know how much Americans love symbols," she said.

Rebecca Patchak, 27, teaches at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. She'll turn off lights in her Hoffman Estates home. She won't charge her laptop or cell phone, though she'll pick up if someone calls. She said there's no excuse not to join.

"I hope people take it beyond this one action," she said. "I hope they see this as one small thing that can make an impact, especially if you do a lot of small things."

The WWF also stresses safety, saying it wants residents to power down only nonessential lights. Illinois, for example, is shutting down decorative lighting at state buildings in the Loop, but street lights will remain on.

Nonessential lights at Midway and O'Hare airports' terminal gate areas and outlying buildings will also be switched off, Department of Aviation spokeswoman Karen Pride said. Airfields will remain lit.

But the definition of nonessential lighting isn't firm. At U.S. Airways Arena in Phoenix, only exterior lighting will be dimmed while NCAA men's basketball tournament games take place inside. The arena will display Earth Hour videos on its giant video screen during that hour.

McCall, the Palatine resident, said she's not sure what she's going to do for the light-free 60 minutes.

One option is a special candlelight dinner and open bar package at the South Loop's Weather Mark Tavern. Patrons will have to pay up front, however, because the electric-powered cash registers won't be running.

World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour Chicago

Participants across the city -- and the world -- will dim their lights from 8-9 p.m. Saturday.

Register: earthhour.org

Chicago area landmarks participating:

bull; Chicago's theater district marquees

bull; Sears Tower exterior lights

bull; John Hancock Center exterior lights

bull; Motorola Inc.'s Schaumburg headquarters

bull; Navy Pier decorative lighting, including Ferris Wheel lights

bull; Soldier Field

bull; Wrigley Field marquee

bull; McDonald's Golden Arches at 490 Chicago area restaurants

bull; United Center lights on the Michael Jordan statue

Worldwide cities observing:

bull; Bangkok

bull; Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia

bull; Christchurch, New Zealand

bull; Copenhagen

bull; London

bull; Manila

bull; Suva, Fiji

bull; Tel Aviv, Israel

bull; Toronto