On Earth Hour, hundreds of millions of people, organizations, corporations and governments around the world will come together by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. In the U.S., Earth Hour sends a clear message that Americans care about their security and want to turn the lights out on dirty air, dangerous dependency on foreign oil and costly climate change impacts, and make the switch to cleaner air, a strong economic future and a more secure nation.

Participation is easy. By flipping off your lights off on March 27th at 8:30 p.m. local time, you will be making the switch to a cleaner, more secure nation and prosperous America.  Set your clock. Earth Hour will once again cascade around the globe, from New Zealand to Hawaii.  Since its inception three years ago, Earth Hour’s non-partisan approach has captured the world’s imagination and became a global phenomenon. Nearly one billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009 – involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents.

Last year, 80 million Americans and 318 U.S. cities officially voted for action with their light switch, joining iconic landmarks from around the world that went dark for Earth Hour, including:

Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, the Las Vegas Strip , the Golden Gate Bridge, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Great Pyramids of Giza, Acropolis and Parthenon in Athens, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament in London and the Sydney’s Opera House.

Bloomington-Normal’s Earth Hour is sponsored by Imagine Green Bloomington/Normal and Vladimir/Canterbury Sister City Green Team. Last year’s major participant partners included:

• Avanti’s – lights dimmed in restaurant
• City of Bloomington – most lights off at City Hall
• U.S. Cellular Coliseum – advertised Earth Hour on sign
• Erik Prenzler – advertised for two weeks on sign on Empire Street
• Heartland Community College – reduced energy
• Illinois State University – reduced energy and advertised on Main Street sign
• ISU Credit Union – advertised on Main Street sign
• Illinois Wesleyan University – reduced energy
• State Farm – most lights out at Corporate and some at Corporate South
• Town of Normal – most lights out at City Hall, Children’s Discovery Museum and Normal Theater

This year’s new participant partners include:

• Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area
• Sister Cities of Canterbury, England and of Vladimir, Russia

The Earth Hour team is looking for additional partners.  For more information, contact Joe Grabill at turtlecn@verizon.net.

Earth Hour reminds us there are many things we can do to reduce your business’s impact on the environment and, at the same time, SAVE MONEY:

• Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones.
• Buy reusable dishware to reduce waste.
• Start recycling and ask employees to participate.
• Subscribe to online newspapers to reduce paper waste.
• Teleconference, instead of commuting to meetings.
• Turn off the lights when they are not needed.

To learn more, visit www.myearthhour.org.