Earth hour

Did you turn off the lights for Earth Hour?

Events,

Millions of people and thousands of places did.

Earth Hour is an annual “lights off” event that asks individuals and institutions around the globe to go dark for 60 minutes to show symbolic support for the planet and raise awareness of the environmental issues affecting it.

Sure, it sounds a bit woo-woo. But Earth Hour it’s been taking place since 2007. And the level of participation is pretty impressive.

From the pylons at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to the Space Needle in Seattle, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and Tower Bridge in London, here are some of the places around the globe that went dark for an hour in honor of Earth Hour on Saturday at 8:30 pm (local time).

Let us know if you participated in Earth Hour this year.

Dark skies, free pins & a giant flamingo

Art, Uncategorized, , ,

A Big Bird for Tampa International Airport

A flamingo sculpture by Matthew Mazzotta depicting a flamingo gently dipping its head beneath the surface of the water is being installed in the center of rhe main terminal at Tampa International Airport. (TPA).

Don’t worry – you can’t miss it. The sculpure is pink, 21-feet tall, and its giant head, neck, beak, and legs are already in place near The Shoppes at Bayshore. The sculpture is expected to be completed over the next few weeks.

LAX, other airports turn off light for Earth Hour

Saturday, March 25, cities, attractions, hotels, and airports around the country marked Earth Hour by turning off non-essential electric lights, for one hour.

Get pinned at PHL Airport

PHL Airport is celebrating the restart of international flights to several destinations this week by handing out collectible pins to mark the day.

We’re trying to figure out how to book those flights so we can nab some pins…

Airports go dark for Earth Hour

Environment, , ,

Courtesy LAWA

Airports around the world will join thousands of iconic landmarks, buildings, attractions, hotels and homes in turning off (non-essential) lights on Saturday, March 25 in honor  of International Earth Hour.

The event began in 2007 with a single lights-off event in Australia and is now observed  in 178 countries and territories – including the International Space Station – with more than 12,700 monuments turning off their lights for one hour in 2016.

Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) signature 100-foot-tall Gateway pylons (above ) will glow green – and then go dark between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.

Courtesy Denver Int’l Airport

Denver International Airport (DEN) will be turning off the lights on the iconic “32-foot-tall Mustang” statue and the “Shadow Array” artwork at the Hotel and Transit Center. Shadow Array is made up of 236 beetle-kill spruce logs that are usually illuminated at night.

Here’s a link to an Earth Hour map of other places going dark around the world for an hour on March 25. Check to see if the lights will be going out where you are at 8:30 local time.

 

Airports turn lights out for Earth Hour

Airports, Environment, Events,

LAX earth hour

Pylongs at LAX Airport will go green – and then go out – for Earth Hour 2015

 

During Earth Hour 2015 , which takes place this Saturday, March 28 around the world at 8:30 PM local time, individuals, businesses, cities, buildings, and more than 1,200 landmarks around the world – including the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bride – plan to switch off their lights for one hour to focus attention on climate change.

Close to 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Acropolis in Athens and Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, are scheduled to go dark in support of Earth Hour and some airports around the world plan to participate as well.

At Los Angeles International Airport, the 100-foot-tall LAX Gateway pylons at the Century Boulevard entrance will be lit in various shades of green before Earth Hour. During Earth Hour – from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. – the pylons will turn off.

Mustang by Luis Jimenez

During Earth Hour Denver International Airport will turn off the illuminated DIA sign along Peña Boulevard, the illuminated sign marking the Jeppesen Terminal and the lights on the airport’s iconic “Mustang” statue.

Elsewhere, Athens International Airport will switch off the lighting on one runway and turn off lighting in the airport buildings and staff parking lots.

Dubai Airports has been switching off non-essential lights for an hour each day since March 5 at both Dubai International and Al Maktoum International Airports in preparation for Earth Hour.

And at Vancouver International Airport, they’ll be switching off the base lights on the control tower and the lights around the Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (a key piece of airport art), in the Public Observation Area, on the exterior sidewalks and in the International Food Court.

Lights out at airports for Earth Hour

Events, ,

LAX earth hour

On Saturday, thousands of cities, towns, homes, hotels and landmarks around the world will turn off their lights for one hour, at 8:30 p.m. local time, as part of Earth Hour to make a statement about climate change.

Participating sites include the Kremlin and Red Square in Russia, the Sydney Opera House, the Brandenburg Gate, the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Niagara Falls and several airports, including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where the 100-foot-tall LAX Gateway pylons that illuminate the main entrance will light solid green one hour before Earth Hour and be turned off from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

DIA Earth Hour

Denver International Airport will also be participating in Earth Hour on Saturday by turning off the illuminated DIA sign along Pena Boulevard, the illuminated sign marking the Jeppesen Terminal and the lights on the base of the “Mustang” statue.

Other airports around the world planning to turn the lights off for Earth Hour include Changi Airport in Singapore and the Samoa Airport

Airports go dark for Earth Hour

Airports, Events, , ,

It’s time once again for Earth Hour, an annual event in which thousands of cities, towns, homes, hotels and landmarks around the world turn off their lights for an hour, at 8:30 p.m. local time, to make a statement about climate change.

Even if you’re not into the “lights out” movement, the idea that places as diverse as casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, the John Hancock Tower in Boston and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. will turn off the lights for an hour is quite impressive.

Some airports will be participating in Earth Hour as well.

For example, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the 100-foot-tall LAX Gateway pylons at the airport’s entrance will light solid green one hour before Earth Hour on Saturday, March 31. Then, during Earth Hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., the pylons will be turned off.

And in Chicago, O’Hare and Midway Airports will participate in Earth Hour by turning off non-essential lighting in the terminals, airport facilities and office buildings.

If you know of other airports planning to dim the lights on Saturday, please use the comments section to let us know.

Earth Hour at the airport

Airports, Environment, Events, , , , ,

This Saturday, March 26, 2011, lights will go out in homes, buildings, towns and cities around the world as part of a coordinated effort to raise public awareness of climate change and the need for energy conservation.

Several airports are joining the effort.

 

At LAX, the 100-foot-tall LAX Gateway pylons that illuminate the entrance to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), will light solid green for one hour before Earth Hour. During Earth Hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., the pylons will be turned off and then resume their color-changing display at 9:30 p.m.

Toronto Pearson International Airport will also be marking Earth Hour this year by reducing lighting in terminals, parking garages and support buildings, turning off or reducing HVAC systems, turning off high-speed moving walkways in Terminal 1 and taking other energy-saving measures.

Singapore’s Changi Airport will switch off all decorative lights, dim non-critical operational lights in much of the airport.and give out battery-less flashlights to travelers who take a simple energy quiz.

London Luton Airport will be switching off lights in many parts of the airport, including its illuminated logo on the front of the terminal building.

And at the Budapest airport they’ll switch off the entire airstrip for Earth Hour. According to Earth Hour organizers, “We have been assured that airport staff are well prepared for the temporary black-out, which will take place under strict national and international control to ensure the utmost passenger and aviation safety.”

Let’s hope so!

Landmarks, hotels & airports turning off lights for Earth Hour

Events, , , ,

(courtesy: Jorge Sierra / WWF-Spain)

Attention travelers and aliens assigned to monitor our planet from outer space: you may notice major landmarks, tourist attractions, and large areas of many cities and towns around the world going dark for an hour on March 27.

Do not be alarmed. It’s just Earth Hour, a rolling, global black-out designed to draw attention to climate change. First organized in Sydney, Australia back in 2007, during last year’s Earth Hour there were voluntary lights-out events in 87 countries. This year, millions of people, more than 115 countries, thousands of cities and hundreds of major attractions and landmarks worldwide have pledged to switch off the lights for an hour as well.

My msnbc.com column this week, Lights out for climate change, lists just some of the landmarks and attractions participating in the carefully choreographed event that kicks off Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. local time in New Zealand’s Chatham Islands and then follow time zones around the globe, ending with an hour of darkness in the South Pacific island of Samoa almost 25 hours later.  You can see the complete list on the Earth Hour website,  but some of the places that will go dark include the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, UN Headquarters in NY, Seattle’s Space Needle and the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C.

(courtesy WWF / Maverick Photo Agency)

Some people think the whole Earth Hour project is silly.  But no matter where you stand on the issue of global warming or the ability of a single, simple event to make a difference, it will be impressive to see so many usually-lit places go dark, if just for an hour.

Many hotels around the world are participating in Earth Hour by turning off lights in public areas and offering candlelit dinners.  In England, though, when five Starwood hotels turn off their lights, hotel staff will begin pedaling special bicycles that will generate enough power to light up the hotel lobbies.

Several airports are also joining in Earth Hour as well, turning off lights that are not essential for safety or security.  You’ll notice lights out at airports in Toronto, Calgary, Amsterdam, London (Luton), Singapore, and Los Angeles, where the iconic, colorful, 100-foot-tall LAX Gateway pylons that stand at the airport’s entrance will glow a steady, solid green between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. and then turn off completely between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.

(courtesy Los Angeles International Airport)

Lights out at airports during Earth Hour

Energy, Environment, , ,

In my column about tourist destinations and travel spots planning to turn out lights for this Saturday’s Earth Day event, there are two (so far) airports.

But don’t be alarmed – there is no plan to put anyone in harm’s way by turning off important runway or tower lights.

Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, which participated in the event last year, will turn off many of the indoor and outdoor signs, some lights in the terminals and many of the moving walkways.

At Los Angeles International Airport, the focus will be on the iconic 100-foot tall colorful light pylons that illuminate the airport entrance and serve as a backdrop for many film and TV scenes. The pylons will be lit solid green for 60 minutes before Earth Hour and then be turned off completely for the event.

Gateway-2000/improvements/lightpylons/Glamour/LAX-sign

Here’s a link to the full story, which has a description of how all the lights will go out on the Las Vegas Strip including, for the first time ever, the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.

vegas-panda-showgirls

Photo courtesy The Firm Public Relations & Marketing.

Alanis Morissette clips toenails on airplane

Celebrities, Energy, Environment, Etiquette,

Celebrities are joining in to promote Earth Hour, March 28th, and Alanis Morissette – and her toenails – star in this PSA about the event.

I include it here on the Stuck at the Airport blog because, to promote the big “turn off” day, Morissette is shown clipping her toenails in her airplane seat – to the shock and dismay of her seatmate.

Earth Hour: The Huge Turn Off- Alanis Morissette PSA