Earth Hour Celebrated Worldwide
Earth Hour is an initiative created by the World Wildlife Fund to raise environmental awareness and reduce the ever growing "human footprint" on the planet. The premise is that for one hour- 8 to 9 p.m. local time- people are asked to turn off all lights and nonessential electrical appliances. Some go so far as to include cell phones and other seemingly small, but power-driven, devices. This year the date for most participators was March 29, 2008. For some locations the sweep continued into the 30th as the earth rotated and others observed it on the 31st. Millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe turned out for Earth Hour.
Ireland's RTÉ News reported the amounts of energy saved in various countries. Ireland's energy use dropped 1.5%. Bangkok saved 73.3 megawatts. Christchurch, New Zealand reported a drop of 12.8%. The Prince of Wales residence, Highgrove House, was dark for an hour. Canada's 553-meter CN Tower in Toronto and the surrounding skyline was likewise. More than 35 U.S. cities participated, including Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco.
People were seen in groups holding candles as a reminder to others to obverse this hour. Nelly Furtado held a free Earth Hour concert at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. The theme song of the evening? "Turn Out The Lights". By the end of the song, which opened the show, she could no longer see her audience in the dark. Neither the performer nor her audience minded.
If you're interested in participating in Earth Hour '09, you can sign up and learn more at http://www13.earthhourus.org/ which is the U.S. site or the official World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour site at http://www.worldwildlife.org/earthhour/. There is also an official Earth Hour blog where photos and other information are posted at http://www.earthhour2008.com/.
Sources other than websites already listed:
RTÉ News, www.rte.ie/news/2008/0330/environment.html "Ireland Uses Less Power for 'Earth Hour'", RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Limited.
Noor Javed, www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/EarthHour/article/407289 "Furtado's light Shines Through", Toronto Star.
Published by Sabne Raznik
Sabne Raznik is a poet, book reviewer, and freelance writer. She has been featured in Marquis' Who's Who of American Women and is a member of Cambridge Who's Who, as well as the Academy of American Poets and... View profile
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