Darkest Hour on Earth Highlights Human Resolve

A global initiative of the conservation group WWF, Earth Hour aims to reach one billion people in 1,000 cities around the world, demonstrating the strength of public opinion in favor of keeping the planet cool.

WWF Director General James Leape says he is optimistic about the campaign's potential to drive key decision making on the issue of climate change. "Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change," he said.

This is a critical year for action to limit global warming. World leaders will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December to sign a new deal that will supersede the Kyoto Protocol.

The lights out initiative began in Sydney, Australia in 2007 as a one city environmental campaign. In 2008, 371 cities in 35 countries turned their lights out. Now, Earth Hour has evolved into a grassroots action that has captured the attention of the world.

Sydney, Australia goes dark for Earth Hour 2008. (Photo courtesy Earth Hour)

The list of cities confirming their participation in Earth Hour 2009 includes 37 national capitals and some of the great cities of the world, including London, Beijing, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels, Cape Town and Helsinki.

In Sydney, every ferry in the harbor will sound its horn at precisely 8:30 pm to herald the start of Earth Hour in Australia, while in Melbourne a people-pedal-powered concert will entertain the crowd at Federation Square.

On the other side of the world, a host of concerts and parties will be staged in cities across Europe, including a "circle of percussion" in Athens, where people will be given percussion instruments to play, led by a conductor, as the lights go out on the Acropolis.

Key landmarks going dark for the event include New York City's Empire State Building and the Broadway theater district, the National Cathedral in Washington, the Las Vegas strip, Niagara Falls, the Eiffel Tower and Elysee Palace in Paris, the London Eye, the Great Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Merlion in Singapore, the CN Tower in Toronto, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the world's tallest constructed building Taipei 101, and the Sydney Opera House.

China will turn off the lights in a signal to the rest of the world of its readiness to address climate change. Organizers have already conducted a rehearsal to ensure that at 8:30 pm the lights will go dark for Earth Hour on the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium, the Water Cube, Ling Long Tower and Pangu Plaza in Beijing.

The Shanghai Government has officially announced its formal participation in Earth Hour 2009 and committed to turning out the lights in all municipal and district government office buildings. The Oriental Pearl Tower and the 492 meter high Shanghai World Financial Center will also go dark.

Earth Hour organizers say countries with developing and emerging economies have "emerged as the driving force behind the tremendous growth in this year's campaign." Of the 83 countries currently participating in Earth Hour 2009, there are 47 with developing and emerging economies, up from the nine that took part last year.

India will join Earth Hour's global call for action on climate change for the first time. The Government of Delhi is officially supporting Earth Hour and has started appealing to citizens in national newspapers to turn off their lights on March 28.

WWF's Global Climate Initiative China Director Yanli Hou said the strong support for Earth Hour in China and India is undermining one of the central arguments used in parts of the developed world to resist taking strong action on climate change.

"For too long people have been saying that they can't tackle climate change until China and India do so too," she said. "The success of Earth Hour shows that the people of these countries are in fact ready and willing to take the lead on climate change."

A host of high profile ambassadors across the world have also given their support to the campaign, most notably Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett.

Earth Hour Executive Director Andy Ridley says Earth Hour is more than just a call to action on climate change. "Earth Hour is an opportunity for the global community to speak in one voice on the issue of climate change, while at the same time coming together in celebration of the one thing every single person on the planet has in common – the planet," he said.

With participation levels now exceeding all expectations, and with more cities and towns signing up every day to be a part of the event, the success of Earth Hour 2009 is limited only by the will of the global community to want a say in the future of their planet.

"Whether it's joining your community in a town square to watch the city lights go dark or hosting a lights out party in your own home," said Ridley, "I encourage everybody across the world to be a part of this historic occasion. Turn off your lights, celebrate the planet, enjoy the moment and cast your vote for Earth."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.