Lights Out: April event aims for 'greener' Akron

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by Tess Wolfe

Reporter

A group of local environmental advocates are encouraging the community to pick up some new habits.

Co-founded by Rich Fein and Munroe Falls resident Carolyn Boyce, "Lights Out Akron" is an event that will take place in conjunction with Earth Day asking Summit County residents and businesses to turn off all unnecessary lights for one hour.

"We want to make this big -- really big," Fein said. "We know the average American family puts 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through transportation, energy and products they use. We want to give people a tool [to decrease energy use]."

At home, individuals are asked to turn off non-essential lighting April 22 from 8 to 9 p.m.

Businesses and government offices are asked to turn off non-essential lighting the same day from 8 to 9 a.m.

"We're asking people to get the word out to neighbors, friends, family -- anywhere they go -- work, places of worship, their gym," Boyce said. "Tell everyone to turn off your [non-essential] lights for an hour. When you're walking away from a room, turn off your lights if you're not going back in there. Turn off your driveway lighting."

Boyce, who has lived in Munroe Falls for four years, said she hopes "Lights Out Akron" will become an annual event that grows to encompass surrounding communities.

During the first three weekends in April, volunteers for the event will provide information and recruit volunteers at six Acme stores in the Greater Akron area.

Although outreach for this year's event focuses on the Akron area, all residents and businesses in Summit County are invited to participate.

"We would like to do this every year on Earth Day," said Boyce. "We're hoping to have more people in different communities in Summit County take over part of it in coming years."

Boyce said the idea for "Lights Out Akron" originated with Earth Hour, which first took place in Australia in February 2007. During Earth Hour, the city's skyline darkened for an hour while participating businesses turned off unnecessary lighting in buildings throughout Sydney.

San Francisco resident Nate Taylor, who attended the 2007 event, catalyzed "Lights Out San Francisco," an event similar to Sydney's Green Hour, last fall, Fein said.

"We borrowed the name from "Lights Out San Francisco,'" said Fein. "We got their permission to use it, but this is separate. We're on our own -- it's Akron's project."

Fein said the other events were not "attending to the interests of smaller cities."

Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic and Summit County Executive Russ Pry are honorary co-chairpersons for the event, which is being sponsored by the city of Akron, Summit County and local businesses and organizations.

Fein and Boyce are co-chairpersons of the Energy and Conservation of the Sierra Club's Portage Trail Group.

The Sierra Club is assisting with the organization of the event, said Boyce.

Lights Out Akron has received funding from both the Sierra Club and the city, Fein and Boyce said, although they declined to state the amount of funding they received to organize the event.

With a "dedicated, hardworking" group of six volunteer organizers, expenses for the event include printing fliers, literature and T-shirts, among other costs, Boyce said.

Participants are encouraged to take the "Simple Steps Pledge," which when fully complete will be available through the event Web site, said Fein.

"It's going to be a very handy tool to start," he said. "By replacing all incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, people can cut their energy bill by 75 percent. We're putting together a system where people can see how much they're saving by doing that."

Lights Out Akron organizers would like to inspire Akron to be a "greener" community, he said.

"This has got to be an ongoing thing," said Fein. "We want people to take long-term steps to reduce their carbon footprint -- how much carbon dioxide we're putting into the atmosphere based on what we use."

For more information about the initiative, or to register to volunteer, visit www.LightsOutAkron.org.

E-mail: twolfe@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3916