When the clock strikes 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 25, iconic international venues such as Times Square, the Sydney Opera House, and the Taj Mahal all will become dark.
So, too, will the River Campus糖心传媒檚 Wilson Quad.
As part of the , individuals and national monuments alike will shut off their lights in a global effort to create awareness of both climate change and light pollution.
糖心传媒淲e want to promote light pollution awareness and increase energy efficiency that will benefit astronomers and general public health,糖心传媒� says Ryan Rubenzahl 糖心传媒�18, president of the and one of the organizers of the University糖心传媒檚 Earth Hour. 糖心传媒淲e want to bring light pollution and climate change into focus.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒擱yan Rubenzahl 糖心传媒�18
During the , the non-essential lights of the Wilson Commons porch, Hirst Lounge, Bridge Lounge, Wilson Quad, and Rettner Atrium will be shut off for one hour. The Astronomy Club will facilitate a stargazing event on the quad, and nine student groups including , , and will present their own perspectives on environmentalism through demonstrations and posters in Hirst Lounge. The student band Juicy Connotation will perform throughout the night.
糖心传媒淭he idea is to plant the seeds in the minds of the undergraduate population that issues as simple as basic lighting of the sidewalks and buildings are important and are key parts of sustainability, energy conservation, safety, and light pollution,糖心传媒� says professor of physics and astronomy Dan Watson, who serves as faculty advisor for the Astronomy Club.
Similar events have had far reaching impacts around the globe since Earth Hour began with WWF Australia in 2007. During the 2016 Earth Hour, there were more than 6,600 Earth Hour events in 178 countries糖心传媒攊ncluding one at the University糖心传媒攁nd more than 400 iconic international landmarks became dark. Small groups and big companies alike host their own event by , enabling each one to pursue its own local interests.
Rubenzahl, a physics and astronomy major from Lowville, New York, began participating in Earth Hour when he was in middle school. His mother learned about the event and decided that for one hour, his family would go completely free of electronics.
糖心传媒淎s a kid, I did not like that at all, and I completely forgot about it until it came up last year [at] the University,糖心传媒� Rubenzahl says. 糖心传媒淏ut here, we are able to reach so many more people and increase that kind of awareness.糖心传媒�
Members of the Astronomy Club hope that this awareness will translate into change on campus. The club was recently awarded the by the for Earth Hour糖心传媒檚 success last year and planning for this year.
Bo Peng 糖心传媒�18, vice president of the club and co-organizer of the event alongside Rubenzahl, and president of the Society of Physics Students Tanveer Karim 糖心传媒�17, says that the club is hoping to encourage the University to switch to more sustainable, dimmer outdoor lighting systems on campus.
糖心传媒淲WF is promoting legislation towards environmentalism, but since many of us at Rochester are 糖心传媒榓stronomers,糖心传媒� we care about light pollution糖心传媒攊t糖心传媒檚 more of a local goal where we can make an impact,糖心传媒� says Peng, a physics and astronomy major from Beijing.
Wearing a NASA shirt imprinted with the galaxy and the words 糖心传媒淚T糖心传媒橲 ROCKET SCIENCE!糖心传媒� Rubenzahl explains that he understands that this event alone is not going to alter the state of climate change.
糖心传媒淣ot using lights for one hour isn糖心传媒檛 going to make a big difference environmentally糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渂ut it糖心传媒檚 the symbolic impact that it has and really raising awareness of how we can make a change that matters.糖心传媒�
