Earth Hour; Toronto among World Wildlife Fund project leaders

Earth Hour Information; Sydney, Australia idea goes global

It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?

The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Turning the lights off for Earth Hour is a great first step, but if you really want to see a difference, then make Earth Hour part of your everyday life.

Simple things like turning off appliances while not in use and switching your light globes to energy efficient bulbs, will all help us reach our goal of reducing our annual emissions by 5%. Even something as simple as turning out lights when you’re not in a room and switching to cleaner sources of electricity like “green power”, make a big difference.

Originating in Sydney in 2007, the Earth Hour campaign has now gained global attention. As a result, on 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities will unite and switch off for Earth Hour. See what is happening in your city and how you can get involved.

Major cities participating include:

* Adelaide »
* Canberra »
* Brisbane »
* Chicago »
* Christchurch »
* Copenhagen »
* Melbourne »
* Sydney »
* Tel Aviv »
* Toronto »



WWF.ca is helping organize Canadian participation in the event. On March 29, 2008, cities across Canada, and around the world will turn off their lights for Earth Hour, a WWF event to raise awareness about climate change and symbolize that, working together the people of the world can make a difference in the fight against climate change.

Earth Hour has grown from a single event in Sydney, Australia in 2007 to a global phenomenon that will occur across six continents and in as many as 20 cities in 2008.

Toronto was the flagship Canadian city to commemorate Earth Hour 2008 but dozens of others including Ottawa and Montreal have already joined!

Our goal is to get thousands of businesses and individuals to participate in this historic event, so we can show the nation and the world that Canadians are leaders in addressing climate change, one of the most critical issues facing our world today.

Don't stop at Earth Hour - live The Good Life everyday! The Good Life is WWF-Canada’s new campaign that helps Canadians track the actions they are taking for the planet so you can actually see how your actions add up to help fight climate change.

Are you a business or community planning an event? Tell us what you are doing for Earth Hour at earthhour@wwfcanada.org and we will let others know what else is happening that night around Canada.


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Clean Energy Investing Info

Acorn Factor invests in California's Local Power

Acorn Factor, Inc. ACFN today announced that it has acquired ten percent of Local Power (LPI), a California-based corporation formed recently by a pioneer in the restructuring of the $325 Billion US retail electricity market. Building upon its successful investment in Comverge, Inc. COMV, a pioneer in the demand response field, Acorn Factor will have the right, for 12 months from today, to purchase an additional 41 percent stake in LPI, bringing its potential total ownership position to 51 percent.

LPI provides consultation services and energy intelligence tools to enable cities to develop renewable electricity resources on a massive scale while utilizing the local utility's distribution infrastructure. LPI's founder, Paul Fenn, created Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), a revolutionary method by which cities can dramatically accelerate deployment of local green power infrastructure in order to diversify their electric power away from fossil fuel to renewable energy and achieve more stable, competitive rates for their communities. There are approximately 1 million consumers currently benefiting from low cost electricity delivered under CCA laws in two states. The two major markets, the Cape Light Compact and the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council in Greater Cleveland, are widely considered to be the only exceptions to the failure of electricity deregulation in the US. In 2002, Fenn authored a CCA law in California, where San Francisco now leads a major movement among municipalities and counties to implement Community Choice.

LPI is building a recurring revenue business with its highly scalable energy service bureau model, assisting cities to adopt, implement and manage CCA networks. CCA offers numerous benefits - city governments become strategic investors in renewable power, local jobs are promoted, rates are stabilized, and the service is popular with environmentally conscious politicians and voters.

In June 2007, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to approve the adoption of a CCA plan authored by Local Power and to proceed with an RFP for implementation bids supported by approximately $1.2 Billion in revenue bonds under the City's "H Bond Authority," which Fenn wrote in 2001. The adoption of CCA by San Francisco is a first by a major city and will implement the largest urban rollout of renewable power in the world - an initial 360 MW of local green power facilities and a 51% Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2017. LPI initially is expected to generate revenues from consulting fees for assisting cities in drafting and implementing CCA implementation plans. There are currently more than forty cities in California considering adopting CCA implementation plans.

Paul Fenn, CEO of Local Power, said, "My dream is that in the next ten years every major city in the USA has the opportunity to painlessly replace at least 50% of its fossil fuel consumption with green power technologies using the tools we have developed at Local Power. Acorn Factor is the logical partner for Local Power because of its success in pioneering demand aggregation at Comverge for peak shaving. Local Power is seeking to apply CCA laws and related mechanisms we have developed to aggregate demand and fund massive deployment of renewable generation and conservation technology." John A. Moore, CEO of Acorn Factor, said that, "Local Power is a terrific opportunity for Acorn Factor to build on its success in aggregating electricity demand and shaping markets at Comverge. Local Power intends to use the CCA laws to expand the use of demand response and go beyond into generation of renewable power through private/public partnerships with the cities. Cities consume 75% of all electricity so with the right tools they are perfectly positioned to lead the green energy revolution. Please visit my blog www.betthejockey.com to learn more about our thinking on Local Power."

About Local Power: Local Power (www.localpower.com) is a pioneer in the restructuring of electricity markets through its innovation of Community Choice Aggregation laws and related mechanisms that enable cities to leverage group buying power and develop renewable power resources on a massive scale while using the local utility's distribution infrastructure. LPI was founded and is directed by Paul Fenn, co-author of the nation's original Community Choice Aggregation law, and author of California's 2002 law, who has successfully worked with local and state governments since 1996 to introduce bills and laws which pioneer alternative power provider options. LPI views Community Choice Aggregation as the purchasing and financing methodology to capitalize on the opportunity of large-scale renewable energy and conservation technologies.

About Acorn Factor: Acorn Factor, Inc. is a holding company for emerging energy ventures which currently owns 2,786,021 shares of Comverge, Inc. COMV common stock - a leading provider of clean energy solutions that enhance grid reliability and enable electric utilities to increase available electric capacity. Acorn specializes in funding and accelerating the growth of emerging ventures that promise meaningful improvements in the economic and environmental efficiency of the energy sector. Acorn Factor also owns an interest in Paketeria GmbH and a controlling position in dsIT. Additional information about Acorn Factor, its dsIT subsidiary and its affiliates is available at www.acornfactor.com, www.dsit.co.il, www.comverge.com, www.localpower.com and www.Paketeria.de.

This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. The Company can provide no assurance that Community Choice Aggregation will be widely accepted, that Local Power will successfully develop its energy service bureau business to assist municipalities with the implementation of Community Choice Aggregation or that such business will generate revenues or profits. Actual results may vary from those projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. A complete discussion of risks and uncertainties which may affect the accuracy of these statements and the Company's business generally is included in "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact Information: Bibicoff & Associates, Inc. Terri MacInnis, Dir. of Investor Relations 818-379-8500 terrimac@bibicoff.com