LAX GATEWAY PYLONS TO GO DARK IN SUPPORT OF INTERNATIONAL EARTH HOUR, SATURDAY, MARCH 31

The 100-foot-tall LAX Gateway pylons that illuminate the entrance to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), will light solid green one hour before Earth Hour on Saturday, March 31. Then, during Earth Hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., the pylons will be turned off as part of a coordinated worldwide effort to raise public awareness of climate change and the need for energy conservation.

Last year more than 80 million participants in the U.S. and nearly a billion people worldwide dimmed their lights in support of action for climate change and for a cleaner, safer and more sustainable future.

The World Wildlife Fund, sponsor of Earth Hour, identified Los Angeles as a leader in environmental issues and chose it as a flagship location for Earth Hour. Earth Hour officials noted the event is a voluntary power down of non-essential lighting by participants. Lighting required for public safety will NOT be turned off.

The LAX Gateway pylons have become a symbolic gateway to Los Angeles since they were first lit in August 2000. In 2005, airport workers installed a new system of light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures that were unavailable in 2000. LEDs are small devices that convert electrical energy directly into light.

Significant cost savings were realized with the new system. The 2,000 LED fixtures in the pylons consume 75 percent less electricity than the previous 736 lamps, and burn for 75,000 to 100,000 hours, compared to 3,000 hours for the original lights. With the elimination of moving parts, motors, lamps and filters not required by the new system, maintenance costs also significantly decreased.

The 1.5-mile lineup of 11 translucent, tempered glass columns of increasing height, from 25 to 60 feet along Century Boulevard, culminates with a ring of 15 100-foot-tall columns at the intersection of Century and Sepulveda boulevards. Together, with 32-foot-high "L-A-X" letters facing eastward to welcome incoming motorists, the pylons create what is considered the world's largest permanent public art light installation.

The pylons, oriented skyward and designed to mimic an aircraft takeoff pattern, are visible to airline passengers from 3,000 feet. They are illuminated in a variety of colors - 16 million color possibilities - and sequences as designed and programmed by lighting artists and airport staff.

The pylon lights will resume their color-changing display beginning at 9:30 p.m., following Earth Hour.