Environment
Earth Hour
28, Mar 2009 - 10:25

Earth Hour 28 March 2009 20:30 to 21:30

Earth hour is sweeping across the globe today. From Sydney to San Francisco to New York and Castlebar people are switching off their lights off. Why? To make a point that action to prevent climate change is needed and is gaining popularity and acceptance among ordinary folk so perhaps the politicos will follow their lead and pass laws that will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

People in Castlebar can vote too – and you can vote as often as you like – it’s one vote per light switch and to vote just switch that light off. Watch tonight’s Ireland v Bulgaria match in the dark!

EarthHour.org’s latest press release says: On March 28, 2009: at 8.30pm local time tonight, 2848 cities and towns across 83 countries will switch off their lights for Earth Hour in a moment of global solidarity.

From the small island nations of the South Pacific to the densely populated cities of the Americas, millions of people from all walks of life and corners of the world will participate in Earth Hour, casting their vote in the world’s first global election between Earth and global warming.

66 national capitals and 9 of the10 most populated metropolises on the planet have confirmed their participation in this year’s event, along with some of the world’s most prominent cites, including: NewYork, •London, •Beijing, •Paris, •Moscow, •Singapore, •Berlin, •Rome, •Athens, •Cairo, •Washington DC, •Rio de Janeiro, •Dubai, •Mexico City, •Sydney, •Mumbai, •Toronto, •Copenhagen, •Manila, •Istanbul, •Nairobi, •Bangkok, •Los Angeles, •Barcelona, •Hong Kong, •Buenos Aires, •Cape Town, and•Kuala Lumpur.

The Great Pyramids of Giza, the world’s greatest symbol of the power of collective action, head up a list of 829 landmarks around the world switching off their lights for Earth Hour, including:, •Eiffel Tower in Paris, •Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, •Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, •London Tower Bridge, •Empire State Building in New York, •Acropolis in Athens, •Colosseum in Rome, •Table Mountain in Cape Town, •Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, •Arc de Triomphe in Paris, •Sydney Opera House, •Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, •Las Vegas Strip, •CN Tower in Toronto, •Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, •Burj Dubai (world’s tallest unconstructed building), •Gaudi Building in Barcelona, •Tapei 101 (world’s tallest constructed building), •The London Eye, •Niagara Falls in Canada, •The Merlion in Singapore, •Wembley Stadium Arch in London, •Sears Tower in Chicago, •Symphony of Lights in Hong Kong, •Dome of St. Peter in Rome, •Edinburgh Castle.

Earth Hour’s open-source nature has been the driving force behind the campaign:
•Earth Hour has 1.1 million online social network friends
•Earth Hour videos are being viewed online every 0.8 seconds
•Earth Hour is regularly trending amongst the most tweeted topics on Twitter
•The term ‘Earth Hour’ has appeared online close to 1 million times in the past twenty-four hours

Earth Hour 2009 organisers have made a final call to the global community to help create a compelling statement on the future of the planet.

“Help make Earth Hour a powerful statement on climate change that can’t be ignored by turning off your lights tonight at 8.30pm in your time zone.” said Earth Hour Executive Director, Andy Ridley.