[Press Release] : Mayor reminds citizens: ‘You are a natural resource’

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Tony St. Romaine, Assistant City Manager - (573) 874-7721 or
Mayor Darwin Hindman - 
(573) 449-5227, (573) 864-7894, (573) 874-7222

Mayor reminds citizens: ‘You are a natural resource’

COLUMBIA, MO (March 27, 2009) - Last year, Columbia Water and Light
customers who participated in “Earth Hour” reduced the community’s
electric load by an estimated 1.72 megawatts. Mayor Darwin Hindman hopes
the community can do even better this year.

“Earth Hour,” scheduled in Columbia from 8:30 - 9:30 p.m. on
Saturday, March 28, is the second such annual, international, voluntary
darkening. Citizens are invited to turn off artificial lighting during
that period, reducing the need for electric power generation and its
associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Last year, as authorized by the City Council, Hindman issued an
“Earth Hour” proclamation challenging all United States cities
and concerned people around the world to turn off artificial lighting
for an hour. The combined effort, he said in the proclamation, will
“raise awareness, educate and reduce our carbon footprint as we
darken our homes and buildings.”

“This is a very easy way for anyone to demonstrate his or her
commitment to reducing energy use and reducing the community’s carbon
footprint,” Hindman said. “As a local government, we promote this
kind of awareness every day, with the Water and Light Department’s
‘I am a natural resource’ campaign to save energy. When each
person takes a piece of the responsibility, we all benefit.”

In 2008, Columbia Water and Light evaluated electric consumption on a
15-second interval and compared last year’s electricity use to
electric load data from the previous week and previous year. The
electric load for Earth Hour 2008 was 144 megawatts. The 1.72-megawatt
saving during that period is equivalent to the amount of power used by
70 homes in Columbia for one day.

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