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Help Celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the Big Blackout - Environmental Communication Options/Huff Strategy

Help Celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the Big Blackout

Aug 1st, 2008 5:46 AM

Power Down for Conservation! Help Celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the Big Blackout Can you hand out 20 posters to local stores, restaurants and offices? The Conservation Council of Ontario needs volunteers across Ontario to enlist the support of stores, restaurants and offices for a “Power Down” day to promote conservation and celebrate the August 14th anniversary of the blackout of 2003. “August 14, 2003 changed Ontario overnight”, said Chris Winter, the Council’s Executive Director. “Every politician said the word ‘conservation’ more times in two days than they had in 10 years, and people all around Ontario were stargazing and holding blackout parties to empty their freezers. In the middle of the crisis, some wonderful things were happening.” The blackout helped to kick-start a renewed interest in conservation, and the Conservation Council has been able to use that momentum to start building a united conservation movement across Ontario. To help mark the blackout and celebrate conservation, the Council is supporting the Blackout Day challenge issued by the Mayor of Woodstock, Michael Harding and the Blackout Day Group, a Mississauga-based not-for-profit group. The Council is asking its network of groups, municipalities, businesses and individual volunteers to ask local stores, restaurants and offices to power down on Thursday, August 14, and display a Power Down poster. “We’re not asking people to black out completely, just power down,” said Winter, whose own house uses less than one third the electricity of the provincial average. “Aim for a fifty percent reduction, turn off unessential appliances and air conditioning, take the stairs, have power-free meals, and support the stores and restaurants that have made a commitment to conserve.” Volunteering for the Blackout Day is easy: 1. Go to www.weconserve.ca 2. Fill in the survey to say where you can canvass 3. Download the poster and print off as many copies as you need 4. Hand out posters to your local stores, restaurants and offices between August 9 and 13. The Council will also add the logo of any community group that can help with distribution, and community papers are encouraged to reprint the poster. “Everyone says conservation is the top priority,” said Winter. “This is a great opportunity to have a little fun with the lights off and remind our municipal, provincial and federal politicians that we need more support for conservation.” - 30 - CONTACT: Chris Winter, Executive Director, 416-533-1635 ext 1, cell: 647-393-5000 The Conservation Council of Ontario is a provincial association of organizations and conservation leaders working to facilitate the transition to a conserver society and a conserver economy in Ontario. Visit www.weconserve.ca for more information.