Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Environment:

Earth Hour observance to dim Strip for an hour Saturday

Earth Hour-Las Vegas Strip 2011

Justin M. Bowen

A before-and-after view of the Las Vegas Strip from the top of Tropicana during Earth Hour on Saturday, March 26, 2011.

Earth Hour 2011

The Strip goes dark during Earth Hour on March 26, 2011, to show support for energy conservation. Launch slideshow »

For one hour on Saturday, darkness will replace the bright pink neon glowing on the Flamingo and bulbs twinkling on Fremont Street casinos as part of a global environmental awareness event.

World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour returns to Las Vegas for the fourth consecutive year, and dozens of Strip and downtown properties are participating by turning off their non-essential exterior lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Marquees and lights on the wall fronts of Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s properties — including Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood and the Rio — will be switched off.

For the hour, the Strip will seem like an average city street at night with just traffic and other safety-related lights still operating.

MGM Resorts International properties like MGM Grand, Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay Bay will be powering down, as will Boyd Gaming’s nine Las Vegas Valley casinos — including the Orleans, Sam’s Town, the California and Main Street Station.

Many of the properties will display an Earth Hour logo to generate awareness for an effort that started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, where about 2.2 million people turned off their lights for an hour to take a stand against climate change, according to the Earth Hour website.

By 2011, millions of people across 135 countries switched off their lights for an hour, according to the website.

As part of the awareness event, Earth Hour asks people to continue thinking about the environment long after the lights are turned back on.

In Las Vegas, casinos and hotels work annually to find ways to conserve energy and make hotel properties more sustainable.

“Earth Hour is a great way to remember the importance of protecting the environment, and our commitment to sustainability goes far beyond a single night,” Paula Eylar, vice president of business and technology for Boyd Gaming said in a press release. “By conserving natural resources and reducing carbon emissions, we help preserve and protect the environment for future generations.”

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