earthhour, earth hour, turn off your lights, lights, events, one hour
About a year ago, Sydney started a trend of turning off your lights for one hour in a show of support for protecting our environment. Soon after, London, San Francisco quickly followed suit. One year later, the organizers of Sydney’s Earth Hour feel that one city at a time doesn’t really cut it anymore. Which is why this year’s event is going global, with cities from every continent, including the US, participating in what promises to be the largest ever show of solidarity in the world on March 29th for Earth Hour.

The even is organized by the World Wildlife Fund International. Last year’s event in Sydney drew the participation of 2.2 million people, and it is obvious that the organizers are expecting a much larger number to participate. The idea is as simple as it sounds. On March 29, 2008 at 8:00p.m. local time, every participant city will encourage businesses, community leaders and individuals to turn out their lights for one hour. So who is participating in the event? Aalborg, Aarhus, Copenhagen and Odense in Denmark; Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in Australia; Suva in Fiji, Manila in the Phillipines, Tel Aviv in Israel, and in the North American side, Toronto and Chicago.
“Earth Hour will send a strong signal that people all around the world are deeply concerned and expect their leaders to take action before it’s too late,” said WWF Director General James Leape. “Climate change is a global challenge that requires global solutions and it’s clear that the people of this planet are ready to get involved and find the answers.”