March 30, 2008
PhotoTO: Earth Hour
Photos by Miles Storey
Whatever the critical analysis of Earth Hour last night—Toronto Hydro is reporting a 9% drop in power during the hour—its success seems assured by the large number of people who attended events and the awareness generated. Walking around downtown, there was a palpable buzz that Torontoist hasn't felt in the city since Nuit Blanche. In addition to the free concert in Nathan Phillips Square, there were successful gatherings all around the city—some impromptu, like the modest crowds that watched Yonge & Dundas Square turn off its ads (above).
More photos from Earth Hour follow.
Photo by r@veneyes
Photo by Miles Storey
Photo by SirCharlie
Photo by denmar
Photo by Miles Storey
Photo by Chris
All photos from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
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I couldn't believe the numbers of pedestrians on Yonge St. last night. They were thronging the sidewalks in great numbers although not as great numbers as Nuit Blanche.
I was in the Trinity Bellwords area and was surprised that so few Queens Street stores did'nt bother to parcipitate. Most of the restaurants did but almost none of the shops did( Huzzah!Comeasyouare and 10,000 Villages! Boo-urns Starbucks!). Kind of a shame I suppose...
Yeah, I was surprised how many shops just didn't seem to bother at all, whether they were open or closed. There are always a few lights you can turn off. For example, if you look at the shots of Yonge & Dundas above you'll see the XXI store on the NW corner has its sign blazing away throughout.
Oh please! Get everyone in the GTA to leave their cars in the driveway through the summer months instead of contributing to the brown cloud that floats above the city! How many would participate?
Great pics!
I keep hoping a good timelapse video will surface on youtube. That would be cool to see. Maybe next year I'll try and do one.
Frankly if that XXI store turned their lights off it would be damn hypocritical.. They're massively guilty of propping the door to their air conditioned store open in the summer. The Guess store next door as well.
mdtoronto: Good luck with that. The GTA has a car obsession that it is nowhere near ready to get rid of.
There are a few video timelapses on Youtube. I like this one especially.
Well, the whole thing wasnt about saving energy...it was a symbolic gesture to show how doing a little does a lot. So really, if you can't tune into the group consciensous and pony up a little sybolic support for the brothehood ( and sisterhood!) of mankind( or ladykind I suppose...) then what the heck good are ya?
Thanks for linking to that, Jerrold! That video is amazing... I'm glad someone finally found a use for the dance remix of the Gladiator ending song.
I'm glad someone finally found a use for the dance remix of the Gladiator ending song.
I LOL-ed really hard at the use of techno Gladiator.
From the rooftop I was at, the worst "offender" was the Revenue Canada building at Victoria and King. I would say 90% of that building was lit up.
I know it's symbolic but I thought the event should have been called "Turn Off Your Logo Night" since most of the office towers still had lights on.
Noticed that building as well deadrobot!! I was very disappointed that the majority of storefronts along King East didn't have lights turned off..Trianon at King & Sherbourne had every lamp in the store lit! Another offender was St. Lawrence Hall, which is owned by the city, yet all the architechtural lighting was still on (the dome was lit up).
I like that last photo with the soft focus background. People should take more photos like that.