Lights Out: "Earth Hour" Makes 26 Cities Go Dark | Millions In The Dark During Earth Hour

Turn Out the Lights: “Earth Hour” Sends 26 Cities Into Darkness

March 28, 2008 2:36 pm Nadia Environment, Film and Tele, In the News, Issues

Millions in the Dark During Earth Hour

On March 29, twenty-six major cities globally will turn off the lights on major landmarks in an effort to raise global warming awareness during Earth Hour.

Chicago, Dublin, San Francisco, Manila, Copenhagen, Bangkok and Toronto have all agreed to join in the lights-out campaign. They will shutting down landmarks and are encouraging homeowners and businesses to turn out the lights as well.

Other cities that are not officially signed on for the event might still shut down the power, such as London, Seoul and Rome.

Earth Hour and Its Impact

Started last year in Sydney, Earth Hour has grown quickly into an international event with over 35 participating countries. In Sydney, attractions like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House will be completely shut off, along with skyscrapers, diners and more. About 2.2 million people took part in last year’s event and cut the energy usage in the central business district by over 10 percent.

Andy Ridley, the founder of Earth Hour, started the initiative after working with the World Wildlife Fun (WWF) in Australia and wanting individuals and businesses to fight climate change together.

Ridley said 317 cities and towns from Canada to Fiji would shut down power for an hour at 9pm. “There are definitely 26 cities that we think, if it all goes to plan, we are going to see a major event of lights going off,” he said.

The Goal of Earth Hour

The event’s organizers are hoping that Earth Hour will show people how energy usage like electricity affects global warming through the burning of fossil fuels, as well as encourage others to conserve energy.

Turning off the lights for an hour, “is not going to make a dent in global emission,” said Charles Stevens from the WWF, “but what it does do is…it engages people in the processes of becoming more energy efficient.”

Stevens hopes the movement will continue to expand, possibly including China and India, two of the world’s largest countries, in Earth Hour next year. “It’s staggering to see so much support in just our second year,” he said.

More officially involved Earth Hour cities include Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, Vancouver, Atlanta, Tel Aviv, Phoenix, Ottawa, Christchurch and Montreal.

Find out more about Earth Hour and its message about global warming here.