What will Preston be doing for Earth Hour?

Google showed its support for Earth Hour 2008

On Saturday 28th March 2009 the world will turn out its lights to send a message to world leaders that the world’s natural resources at running out and something needs to be done.

The question is, what will Preston be doing in 2009 for Earth Hour? Already local authorities across the UK have been signing up to Earth Hour and pledging to turn the lights out where they can to save energy. Preston City Council appears to have signed up and will be taking the pledge to turn off lights on March 28th where possible.

The event is organised by the WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) and here’s what it’s all about:

Earth Hour 2009 is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to take responsibility and to get involved in working towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to The Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world will turn off their lights and join together in creating the vital conversation about the future of our precious planet.

Watch the official Earth Hour 2009 video

So, what will you be doing for Earth Hour? Will you be taking part? Will you be doing nothing and carrying on as normal? Are you hosting an event?

UCLan carbon success hampered by lack of joined up transport thinking

This is a guest post from Martin Brown. He is a blogger on the built environment at isite and can be found on twitter @martinbrown. If you’d like to write a guest post for Preston Blog check out how you can get involved.

A recent article in the Guardian focused on UCLan’s excellent performance in obtaining the Carbon Trust Standard – only one of six universities nationally to do so.

Interestingly Paul Morris, director of facilities management at UCLan, sees transport, as the challenging, sticky issue:

He said: “We do have a university travel plan, and fewer staff travel to work on their own in their vehicles, but it’s difficult for people to get here because public transport alternatives are so poor.”

Though the University lobbies the local council for improvements, he explains, problems with the interchange between rail and bus timetables, for example, discourage students and staff from using them. This means transport is a factor in UCLan’s carbon performance that is proving particularly difficult to improve upon.

Read more comments on facilities carbon management