Earth Hour 2008

[HandyAndy]

http://www3.earthhourus.org/

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time)–whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.

What will you do when the lights are off? We have lots of ideas.

Join people all around the world in showing that you care about our planet and want to play a part in helping to fight climate change. Don’t forget to sign up and let us know you want to join Earth Hour.

One hour, America. Earth Hour. Turn out for Earth Hour!

YDNEY (AFP) - Twenty-six major cities around the world are expected to turn off the lights on major landmarks, plunging millions of people into darkness to raise awareness about global warming, organisers said.

'Earth Hour' founder Andy Ridley said 371 cities, towns or local governments from Australia to Canada and even Fiji had signed up for the 60-minute shutdown at 0900 GMT on March 29.

"There are definitely 26 (cities) that we think, if it all goes to plan, we are going to see a major event of lights going off," he told AFP.

Cities officially signed on include Chicago and San Francisco, Dublin, Manila, Bangkok, Copenhagen and Toronto, all of which will switch off lights on major landmarks and encourage businesses and homeowners to follow suit.

Ridley said it was also likely that other major European cities such as Rome and London, and the South Korean capital Seoul, although not officially taking part, would turn off lights on some attractions or landmarks.

The initiative began in Sydney last year and has become a global event, sweeping across 35 countries this year.

From 8:00 pm local time in Sydney, the energy-saving campaign will see harbourside icons such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House bathed only in moonlight, restaurant diners eat by candlelight and city skyscrapers turn off their neon signs.

Organisers hope the initiative will encourage people to be more aware of their energy usage, knowing that producing electricity pollutes the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels which are contributing to global warming.

But they are also aware that it will be just a small step in solving the problem of rising temperatures around the globe.

"Switching the lights off for an hour is not going to make a dent in global emissions," organiser Charles Stevens, of the environmental group WWF, told AFP.

"But what it does do is it is a great catalyst for much bigger changes. It engages people in the processes of becoming more energy efficient."

Stevens said the initiative encouraged businesses to be more careful with their electricity use while at the same time sending "a fairly powerful message to governments that people are demanding action."

Some 2.2 million people participated in last year's 'Earth Hour' in Sydney, cutting the central business district's energy usage by more than 10 percent.

While no cities from China or India are involved this year, Stevens said it was hoped that the movement would expand in 2009, which he said would be a particularly significant year given that it is the deadline for United Nations talks to determine future action on climate change after the Kyoto Protocol.

Ridley, who began 'Earth Hour' last year while working with WWF Australia, said the initiative was about individuals and global companies joining together to own a shared problem -- climate change.

"Governments and businesses are joining individuals, religious groups, schools and communities in this terrific movement that's all about making a change for the better," he said.

"It's staggering to see so much support from across the globe in just our second year and we're hoping that this will continue to grow year after year."

Cities officially involved in 'Earth Hour' include Aalborg, Aarhus, Adelaide, Atlanta, Bangkok, Brisbane, Canberra, Chicago, Christchurch, Copenhagen, Darwin, Dublin, Hobart, Manila, Melbourne, Montreal, Odense, Ottawa, Perth, Phoenix, San Francisco, Suva, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto and Vancouver.

I think this is awesome.

 

[penkitten]

bump

 

[Effington]

They made a big deal about downtown Chicago going dark for an hour...

 

[tj]

subscribed

 

[bbestar]

global heating is fake and made up.


scientist's are paid to make up data to support

I will not be responsible in the formation of a global carbon tax, by taking part in this 60 minute shutdown.

 

[Desdinova]

Oops, I forgot.

 

[canadianmetalhead]

global heating is fake and made up.


scientist's are paid to make up data to support

I will not be responsible in the formation of a global carbon tax, by taking part in this 60 minute shutdown.

you think so eh? come to the "great white north" of canada where it ****ing rains in the winter now, you moron.

 

[ThunderMaverick]

bbestar is right if you dig deep enough.


No, I also will not be supporting a carbon tax.

Which is pretty much a tax to live. No thanks.

 

[slitherjef]

hmmm... hope its clear so I can pull my gear out and do some deep sky imaging

 

[Quiksilver]

Yeah I'll flip off te lights. It won't hurt my existence by flipping the switch for one hour.

 

[In Motion]

Its all a mixture of different variables. Its definitely not 100% man made. Earth has had its ups and downs temperaturewise. You think the Iceage was manmade? Nope. On hot days you hear: Its the hottest day since jun 1932!

Well guess what? That just means that there has been hotter times! The only reason why there is so much fuzz about this is because we are in a hot period and on top of that we have the manmade changes.

 

[ThunderMaverick]

Polar icecaps on mars are melting due to pollution here too.

Boy we're evil!

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Global warming is NOT repeat NOT fake. But it is also NOT repeat NOT due to anything humans have done.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release, 176495.shtml


The earth has been around for millions and millions of years, and you arrogantly dumb motherfukkers think that humans are powerful enough to fukk it up in a hundred or so:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: ?

We can't even tell when it's gonna rain fer krisssakes!

where's al gore when you need him:cheer:

 

[yourunintended]

Well, it's come and gone here for the second time now. Praise the idiots who thought up this bs. I was only watching the footy, so it did me no harm, but I find no point to it. I do wonder if it is that safe. Sydney in darkness is not a place I want to be walking through

 

[djtdot]

Say humans are the one causing global warming. We have been fukin the planet for 100 year and you think turning of the lights for 1 hour will help it? This thing is just symbolic. Now every moron driving a SUV will be like "oh look I helped the war against global warming coz I turned out my lights for an hour".

 

[SmoothTalker]

I assume turning your lights off would also entail turning off other electrical appliances like stoves and washing machines and whatnot? Hope nobody's grid crashes when millions of people turn everything back on at 9:01.

 

[DavenJuan]

not a word of this in cleveland...

bump

 

[tj]

regardless of pollution control, fossil fuels are still dwindling.

Moreover, we need to stymie dependence on them anyway.

Peace

 

[Commando]

Ahh yea,

Earth hour is the perfect opportunity to call up your honey and make some sandwiches in the dark.

 

[BMX]

I took part. Did what I could.