World Switches Off To Save Planet in “Earth Hour” Print E-mail
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Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.  

Started in Sydney, Australia in 2007, Earth Hour quickly grew into a global observance. More than 1,000 cities in over 80 countries observed Earth Hour 2009 on Saturday March 28th, as homes, office towers and landmarks turned off their lights for an hour starting at 8.30 pm local time to raise awareness about climate change and the threat from rising greenhouse gas emissions. 

Celebrations around the world

In Sydney, Australia, the end of Earth Hour was celebrated with a fireworks show.

The Danish royal palaces, Amalienborg Palace and Gråsten Palace, went dark at the Queen's command.

Nelly Furtado held a free concert at Nathan Philips Square in Downtown Toronto to celebrate Earth Hour.

In Toronto, Ontario, York University’s student-run Environmental Outreach Team ran an afternoon Earth Hour information session, and the York University Observatory offered an extra public viewing session.

Stargazing activities were held in Toronto's Ontario Science Centre and Richmond Hill's David Dunlap Observatory.

Astronomy Ireland set up high-powered telescopes in Dublin's Phoenix Park to allow people to take advantage of the night sky, normally swamped by bright city lights.



Nelly Furtado held a free concert at Nathan Philips Square in Downtown Toronto to celebrate Earth Hour.

In Toronto, Ontario, York University’s student-run Environmental Outreach Team ran an afternoon Earth Hour information session, and the York University Observatory offered an extra public viewing session.

Stargazing activities were held in Toronto's Ontario Science Centre and Richmond Hill's David Dunlap Observatory.

Astronomy Ireland set up high-powered telescopes in Dublin's Phoenix Park to allow people to take advantage of the night sky, normally swamped by bright city lights.

In Tel Aviv, Israel, a free open air concert by Knesiyat Hasekhel was held at Rabin Square. Power needed for the concert was generated by a group of cyclists pushing pedal generators. The rest of the power was supplied by generators burning used falafel oil for power.

In Atlanta, the CEO of WWF US, Carter Roberts and the Mayor of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin flipped a giant switch on live TV symbolically starting the wave of lights going out on the buildings around the city.

In San Francisco, a public event hosted by WWF US was attended by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and other celebrities. They gathered to watch the lights go out, listening to the music of Jason Damato.

In Egypt, the lights will go out on the Sphinx and Great Pyramids of Giza at 8:30 pm. Egypt’s First Lady, Her Excellency Madame Suzanne Mubarak, supports Earth Hour’s global call for action on climate change. 

The day has been a big topic in online forums like twitter and facebook. But the concept of improving lighting efficiency has been at the forefront of lighting technology innovation for several years. Light sources like LED lights are being built and created to help us use energy more efficiently for lighting, reducing the effects of global warming on our environment. Turning off your lights for Earth Hour is a good opportunity to switch from incandescent light bulbs to LED Lights. If all the incandescent light bulbs are replaced by LED lamps, which use about 70% less energy than conventional units, we will have this Earth Hour for 20 times longer everyday.

Reference sites:

 

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/03/earth_hour_2009.html 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour