Marysville kid leads energy-saving charge

Published 11:07 pm Tuesday, March 24, 2009

One night last year, the Ryiter family was home in Marysville watching a movie. All of a sudden it was lights out. They lit candles and played cards.

That same night, at Everett’s Comcast Arena, exterior lights were shut off. Even the landmark masts went dark.

There was no storm. The power hadn’t failed. It was Earth Hour 2008. On that March night, there was a connection between what happened at Mitch Ryiter’s house and the unlit arena.

Mitch, now a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Marysville Middle School, had asked Global Spectrum, which runs the arena, to take part in Earth Hour. Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, the climate and conservation awareness effort started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007. That year, more than 2 million homes and businesses shut off lights for one hour.

By 2008, Earth Hour stretched around the world. Lights were dimmed from New York’s Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to Rome’s Coliseum — and the arena and Mitch Ryiter’s house in Snohomish County.

Again this year, at Mitch’s request, nonessential lights at Comcast Arena will be dimmed from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday for Earth Hour. It will be observed Saturday at “8:30 p.m. local time, wherever you live on planet earth,” according to the Web site www.earthhour.org.

Mitch and his classmates were inspired by Gina Sanchez, a literacy and social studies teacher at Marysville Middle School. When another student, Jake Shearer, brought Earth Hour to Sanchez’s attention last year, she asked if students wanted to spread the word.

“They called businesses, contacted the media and the mayor,” Sanchez said. Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall came to their class to hear about Earth Hour, and several local businesses turned off lights, Sanchez said.

“This year, our objective is to teach our school,” she said. Students have offered energy-saving tips over the school’s intercom, and made posters and presentations to classrooms. “I’m pretty ecologically minded,” Sanchez said. “One time I brought my worms in to show how I compost.”

One hour per year? It’s a token reminder that saving energy ought to be a daily habit. Snohomish County PUD spokesman Neil Neroutsos shared tips for keeping power use down without much sacrifice.

Plugging computers, TVs and other electronics into power strips is a start, he said. They can be turned off when not in use. Neroutsos said Smart Strip power strips allow for turning off peripheral equipment, printers or scanners. Unplugging cell phone chargers when not in use is another easy way to save, he said.

“We are increasingly working with business customers on relatively simple things like lighting,” the PUD official said. In the near future, he said, “we’re going to see greater changes in lighting,” including low-wattage, light-emitting diode street lights and traffic lights.

Tammi Bryant Olsen, marketing director for Global Spectrum, said the arena will be dark for Saturday’s Earth Hour, except for minor exterior lighting for safety. There is no scheduled event in the arena, but the public rink and conference center will be in use.

“We like to be environmentally friendly,” she said.

Derek Ryiter, Mitch’s father, said his family is increasingly aware of the environment. He and his wife, Jennifer, don’t eat meat, and have raised Mitch and his 10-year-old sister Abigail as vegetarians. “We think that helps a lot,” Derek Ryiter said.

There’s nothing new about shutting off lights. Ryiter and I remember our parents switching off lights that weren’t in use. Now, kids are the ones asking adults to be mindful of wasted power.

“It’s coming full circle,” Ryiter said.

Sanchez said her students are passionate about the issue. “They really care about their environment,” she said.

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Lights will dim for Earth Hour

Earth Hour, 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday (local times around the world), is an environmental awareness effort sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. Nonessential lights will be shut off during Earth Hour in cities and at landmarks around the world, including at Everett’s Comcast Arena. Information: www.earthhour.org.

The Snohomish County PUD offers these everyday power-saving tips: