Earth Hour Hits the World

Posted by Joshua S. Hill

February 20, 2008

Live 8 was one of those massive world events that for just a few hours puts everyone in the same chair. It makes us think globally, rather than just of ourselves. In just over a month’s time, on March 29, millions of people around the world will be turning off their lights, their power, for just one hour.

Earth Hour 2008 is the sequel to the hit Sydney’s 2007 Earth Hour, where a total of 2.2 million people turned off their lights for just one hour.

Landmarks like the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House went dark. A wedding was held by candlelight, McDonald’s went dark. It was the same as taking 48,000 cars off the road. A year later, and the world is signing on to join Sydney.

As of writing this article, just under 2000 businesses have signed up, as well as over 38,000 individuals.

“If we see the same participation levels around the globe that we did in Sydney, then we can anticipate more than 30 million people involved,” said Andy Ridley, Earth Hour’s executive director.

Some of the cities so far to have joined up include Atlanta, San Francisco, Bangkok, Ottawa, Dublin, Vancouver, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Christchurch; not to mention major Australian cities Sydney, Melbourne (w00t!) and Brisbane.

This event takes place 29^th of March, and for Australian’s it takes place at 8pm (I’m not certain what it is for other countries, could someone leave a comment and let me know?). Check out the official website if you want more information. Businesses can find a lot of information in helping to organize events, and if you want to organize an event in your home town, there’s info for you too.

Bookmark to: