Earth Hour is an annual worldwide call to action to encourage people to think about global warming and how we can reduce climate change.
Organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the event is held on the last Saturday of March each year. Households, Businesses and Councils are encouraged to turn off their lights and any non-essential electrical appliances for one hour.
Earth Hour was first born in 2007 when 2.2 million Sydney residents turned off their lights to spark awareness about climate change. In 2008, 35 countries and over 400 cities took part in the event. Turning off lights at iconic landmarks became the driving force of public awareness with buildings such as the Sydney Opera House, Empire State Building and the Coliseum all turning off their lights.
Even websites played their part. Google’s homepage colours went ‘dark’ on the day of the Earth Hour although, of course, for the hour itself the idea is not to be using electronic equipment!
The 2009 Earth Hour saw 88 countries and 4,088 cities participate, including an estimated 80 million people in the United States. Cities reported up to 15% drops in electricity demand for that hour.
Earth Hour now has an official website with information about the event as well as Earth Hour news from around the world.
In New Zealand after the event, the percentage drop in power consumption for each city is reported in the media, clearly showing which cities have saved the most power. This has encouraged healthy competition with each city doing its best to use the least electricity during Earth Hour.
Unique activities to mark Earth Hour include switching off the power to famous iconic Kiwiana landmarks such as Te Puke’s giant Kiwi fruit, turning off lights in bars and restaurants and dining in the dark and a host of festivals and bands to celebrate the occasion.
This article was kindly supplied by NZS.