Earth Hour Participation Rates Continue to Decline

Toronto, ON - Earth hour participation rates are continuing to decline, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Postmedia News. Asked whether they participated in Earth Hour on Saturday at 8:30pm local time by turning off the lights in their home or place of business for one hour, 36% of Canadians said they turned their lights off, while 8% didn't turn off their lights but participated in another way. In total, 44% of Canadians participated in Earth Hour in some way, shape or form, down 3 points from last year and down 16 points from 2009. Nearly one in ten (7%) have never heard of this event (unchanged).

In many cases, though, those who participated this year did more to save energy than those who participated in Earth Hour last year. For example, among those who participated, eight in ten (83%) said they refrained from using appliances (up 3 points from last year) during Earth Hour, while more participants this year than last year turned off their computer (68%, up 3 points) and turned off their television (64%, up 7 points). Two in ten (19%, down 2 points) went so far as to turn off their furnace, or to unplug clocks or other small devices (18%, up 1 point). Three in ten (27%, down 1 point) participants made some other contribution.

The data also reveal that women (46%) were slightly more likely than men (41%) to observe Earth Hour, while those with kids (48%) in the household were more likely than those without kids (43%) to participate. According to the poll, participation rates were highest in Ontario (51%), British Columbia (50%) and Atlantic Canada (47%), and considerably lower in Alberta (39%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (37%) and Quebec (31%).

The following chart tracks participation rates from 2009 to present by region:

(Click to enlarge image)

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between March 28 to 31, 2011, on behalf of Postmedia News. For this survey, a sample of 1,022 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Associate Vice President
Ipsos Reid
416.572.4474
[email protected]

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