FAQ's

1. Isn't this just a publicity stunt? No, this is much more than that. All the major building owners and tenants have made a pledge to permanently reduce their wasteful use of lighting electricity through a set of policy changes.
2. How much will this cost this taxpayer? It won't cost the taxpayer anything – but it will save taxpayers' dollars later through electricity demand reduction.
3. How will this help the environment? Much of the electricity to meet off-peak demand is generated from coal – and coal is a major contributor to green house gases. We can eliminate roughly 6,000 tons of CO2 annually if we can reduce non-essential lighting in just 50% in the downtown Houston office buildings.
4. I don't work in downtown but how can I participate? At 10:00 PM on Friday, April 25th turn off the lights at your house and then change the lighting habits around your house at all times. Turn off the lights when you are not in your office at work and encourage your employer to install occupancy sensors.
5. Who is responsible for the lights in commercial buildings being left on? Many people! It's a combination of tenants and building service companies, and this program aims to address both groups.
6. What about the person who thinks s/he needs to show the boss that s/he arrives early and works late by leaving the office lights on at all times? Through education, we want to show that it's wiser to turn off the lights when you are not in the office - and you can score more points with your boss!
7. Why aren't other cities doing this? Actually, other cities are participating but in different ways – on March 29th, many cities throughout the world participated in a similar program called Earth Hour. This simple act captured the attention of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world's major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tel Aviv united and switched off for Earth Hour. Visit: http://www.earthhour.org
8. Who should I contact if our company wants to participate? All companies are welcome to sign our pledge form – please contact Sandra Strahan with the Greater Houston Partnership (sstrachan@houston.org), Jo D Miller with IREM (JMiller@IREMhouston.org), or if you are downtown, Marina Kriticos at Central Houston (marina@centralhouston.org).
9. Where can I get additional information about climate change? Visit our website at www.lightsouthouston.com. There are also many great websites where you can get additional information about climate change including two from the EPA and United Nations, respectively http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ and http://www.unep.org/Themes/climatechange/ .
10. I see lots of lights on, even a week later! Didn't they want to participate? This program is completely voluntary and we have made every effort to communicate this program to all affected parties. However, Houston is a 24-hour international business city with 24-hour operations. If you have questions, please send an email to sstrahan@houston.org or JMiller@IREMhouston.org and we will get the information to the appropriate party.