What Earth Hour 2013 looked like in Toronto

So Earth Hour happened on Saturday. Did you notice? You'd be forgiven if you didn't as the city once again showed only a modest dip in energy consumption during the hour-long event, which is observed in cities across the world. According to Toronto Hydro, the city sucked about 7 per cent less power than is typical for the time period in question, which represents a slight gain from last year's dip of 6.8 per cent. Back in 2009, the city witnessed a 15 per cent drop in power consumption.

So what does a seven per cent drop look like? Thanks to videographer Dave Dunville, we have a pretty good idea. Check out the 50 second mark in the timelapse below. What seems like an already well-lit city all of sudden brightens up considerably. Could it be more dramatic? Of course. Is Earth Hour a symbolic gesture anyway? Yes. Still, it's interesting enough to measure the collective effort put in on a visual level like this. As far as letter grades go, I'm thinking a C is in order, but I've always been a bit too generous as a marker.

Earth Hour Timelapse - Toronto, Canada from Dave Dunville on Vimeo.