Bay Area Landmark Gets Green Facelift For Earth Day
KPIX 5 Morning Weather Anchor Roberta Gonzales answers the questions you never get to ask on-air.
Q: Roberta; What do YOU do to observe earth Day? - Donny Lee, Sunnyvale
A: Good Question Donny! Annually, I plant a tree. This year I am verklempt! With our Bay Area drought, I'm wondering if I can plant a tree in my yard without exceeding my water allotment. Perhaps I can plant, a "little" tree or shrub!
Today is Earth Day! What does that mean? For the past 45 years (since 1970), Earth Day is the one day in which universally, day events are observed to show how important the environment is to us. It is a chance to demonstrate action for environmental protection! It's about uniting voices in support of a healthy planet! And not only does it begin with one person at a time, but I am so happy when I see big businesses, corporations take on leadership roles in our Community.
And it can be small things with big impact. Which leads me to the historic sign atop the C&H Sugar refinery in Crockett. We've all seen it, but never this way before! As of today, Earth Day, the big, world renown marque will be lit with new eco-friendly LED bulbs.
The project is part of a corporate-wide sustainability commitment by ASR Group – owner of C&H Sugar – to reduce energy usage across its operations with the support of its employees. The new bulbs require 80 percent less energy and will last significantly longer than the traditional incandescent bulbs they replace. The upgraded lights will result in an annual reduction of 90,000 KwH by the refinery. That's enough energy to power nearly 10 homes for an entire year! Yep, 10 homes!
The iconic "C&H Pure Cane Sugar" sign was erected in 1956 and is a landmark known throughout the Bay Area. It is visible to the Crockett community and to travelers along the bridges that span the Carquinez Straight. How big is it? The "C" and "H" letters each stand 22 feet tall and together are comprised of more than 800 light bulbs. Today on Earth Day, they will shine through the new, high-efficiency LED bulbs.
Using only 8 watts per bulb, the new LEDs will produce the same light as the 40-watt incandescent bulbs they are replacing and will last approximately 25 years!
Kudos to C & H Sugar refinery for making steps towards their energy reduction goal. The historic refinery is shining brighter than ever before, with less energy!
I would love to hear from you! Please send weather questions, observations and photos to me, Gonzales@kpix.cbs.com and I look forward to hearing from you!