The Hour of Darkness That Circled the Globe - 10 April 2012.
Earth Hour 2012 organizers are jubilant today after
a satisfyingly successful global event on March 31. Lights went out at 8:30 pm
local time as Earth Hour circled the world through a record 150 countries and
territories, with 6,494 towns and cities participating.
Organized by the global conservation organization
WWF, Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million people
and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a
stand against climate change.
Andy Ridley, co-founder and executive director of
Earth Hour, said going dark for one hour offers "an hour of
inspiration" to create awareness and motivate ongoing action for the
environment.
"We can all change the world we live in,
whether that change be big or small," said Ridley. "This year as the
lights switch off, Earth Hour encourages you to commit to go beyond the hour
and inspire your friends, colleagues, organization and leaders to do the
same."
"As the lights switch off around the world, we
want everyone to remember that this hour of darkness is inspiration for what is
to come - a commitment from all of us to make positive environmental changes in
our lives. Start by making your own 'I Will If You Will' challenge and
encourage those around you to do the same," said Ridley.
The "I Will If You Will" platform is
hosted at www.youtube.com/earthhour. More than 100,000 visitors have accepted
the 80 feature challenges from celebrities, governments, organizations and
individuals.
From the International Space Station to the Office
of the UN Secretary General, to a passionate teenager who has organized Earth
Hour in Libya for the first time, the global movement inspired individuals,
organizations and governments to address our shared environmental
challenges.effect us all.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, "Turning
off our lights is a symbol of our commitment to sustainable energy for all. We
need to fuel our future with clean, efficient and affordable energy. By acting
together today, we can power a brighter tomorrow."
The small island nation of Samoa was the first to
switch off the lights for Earth Hour.
People in Fiji switched off their lights where
possible despite deadly floods. Fiji's floods have claimed three lives and
forced almost 8,000 people into evacuation centers as more heavy rain pounds
the island country.
One of the world's first major monuments to go dark
was the Auckland Sky Tower, the tallest building in New Zealand. Night markets
brought crowds of families to a major celebration in Tauranga and lights were
switched off across the country.
In Sydney, Australia, where Earth Hour began five
years ago, lights went out on the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
"What began in Sydney as a simple idea to raise awareness of climate
change - to switch off the lights for an hour - has become a global success,"
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a statement. Australians turned out in
huge numbers to celebrate the 60-minute switch-off, picnicking under the stars
and having candlelit dinners.
As the lights went off across southeast Asia, record
participation in one of the campaign's major growth regions has ignited more
passion for the movement.
The Philippines participation in the event is
thought to have topped last year's 18 million participants. Earth Hour founder
Ridley, who was there for the event, said, "For the first time in history
we have the power to connect behind a common purpose and the ability to create
a network without national borders, based on the most influential voices and
the smallest voices. The growth in social media, the world's news media outlets
and the digital revolution has allowed that to happen."
The main Earth Hour event at the Great Wall of China
saw hundreds of university students and International Earth Hour ambassador Li
Bing Bing visually pledge their ongoing commitment for the environment in 2012.
In Beijing, the China World Trade Center and the Olympic Park's Bird's Nest
Stadium and Water Cube turned their lights off to mark Earth Hour.
More than 74,500 buildings in South Korea switched
their lights off, according to the Twitter account of the U.S. Embassy in
Seoul.
In Indonesia, social media helped drive the local
version of the "I Will If You Will" campaign, Ini Aksiku! Mana
Aksimu?
Social media was responsible for the massive
turn-out in India, which culminated in an MTV Unplugged concert in New Delhi
sourced with alternative power. A similar concert and lights-off event has been
held at the Mysore Palace, India's most popular tourist attraction. Megacities
competed across India for the title of Earth Hour Champion.
Nepal celebrated its largest ever Earth Hour with
dual events in the capital Kathmandu and in Lumbini, birthplace of Lord Buddha.
Earth Hour was supported by six monasteries and nearly 10,000 youth who plan to
plant one million trees by 2020.
Maitri Mahastavir, spiritual advisor of the Lumbini
Development Trust, said, "Through Earth Hour, we want to promote the
message of conservation - starting with Lumbini and travelling beyond its
borders - as the way of life for human beings not just in Nepal but across the
world."
As European Space Agency Astronaut Andre Kuipers
watched over Earth from the International Space Station; he used Twitter to
share photos of areas under threat like the Amazon.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela
tweeted, "Let us stand together to make of our world a sustainable source
for our future as humanity on this planet" #NelsonMandela
#EarthHour."
Facebook was used to coordinate Earth Hour in Kurdistan,
northern Iraq as well as in Libya's capital Tripoli. Earth Hour celebrations
were held at the Red Saraya Museum and Martyrs' Square where thousands
celebrated the end of the Qaddafi regime.
"From Beijing to Berlin, from Singapore to San
Francisco, people are turning out their lights tonight to signal their concern
about the future of our life on this earth," said WWF International
Director General Jim Leape, speaking from a pedal-powered concert in the shadow
of Castel Sant'Angelo as famous landmarks in Rome and the Vatican went dark.
Leape is taking on an 'I Will If You Will' challenge
of tagging endangered bluefin tuna for a long-running WWF scientific research
project.
In the UAE, the world's tallest skyscraper, Dubai's
Burj Kalifa, went dark as Dubai Municipality, the Burj Al Arab, Etisalat, and
the Clock Tower also switched off their lights.
In Russia, organizers estimate that some 15 million
people observed Earth Hour, 40 percent more than in 2011. Russia, stretching
across nine time zones, records the longest participation in Earth Hour of any
country. Major celebrations were held in Moscow, where the Luzhniki stadium and
Moscow City Hall went dark.
Greece used Facebook to spread its Earth Hour
message that conservation is not a luxury but a necessity, warning that
assaults on the environment in the name of overcoming the Greek economic crisis
are misguided.
Some 300 cities and towns across Austria, Hungary,
Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and Ukraine observed Earth Hour. In Austria,
Earth Hour earned the support of both President Heinz Fischer and Chancellor
Werner Faymann, who switched off the lights of Vienna's Imperial Castle, the
President's residence, and the Chancellery buildings.
Germany's official celebration was centered around
Berlin's famous Brandenburg Gate, which once divided East from West Berlin.
People lit 5,000 candles in the form of a globe in front of the gate before
city officials switched off the lights.
More than 230 monuments and major gathering points
in Paris dimmed their lights for the hour, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre
Dame Cathedral, the Arc de Triumph, as well as fountains and bridges over the
River Seine.
In London, a human powered dance floor lit up the
UK's flagship Earth Hour event at Somerset House. The National Theatre, South
Bank Centre and Waterloo Bridge went dark, and the lights were switched off or
dimmed at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, EDF Energy
London Eye, Wembley Stadium, Royal Albert Hall, National Gallery, Old Trafford,
Clifton Suspension Bridge, Edinburgh Castle, the Millennium Centre and the
lights of Piccadilly Circus.
In the United States, the National Cathedral in
Washington, DC and New York City's Empire State Building went dark. In Chicago,
Wrigley Field, the Willis Tower and Navy Pier turned off the lights, and in
California, pylons outside the Los Angeles International Airport turned green
and then went dark. Even Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier shut off the
lights on its famous Ferris wheel.
In Canada, 511 municipalities participated. In
Toronto, the Independent Electricity System Operator, which helps manage and
co-ordinates Ontario's power grid, said electricity demand was down 2.7 percent
from a typical Saturday night.
And to the south, Earth Hour Bolivia says the event
is about much more than just saving electricity for an hour.
"Earth Hour and Earth Hour Bolivia aren't about
seeing how much electricity we can save over the course of an hour in the
world. It's about creating awareness of the need to be better stewards of the
natural resources we have available to us - each and every day," the group
says.
"Each year the Earth's population multiplies
and our use of our resources is increasing at rates that will soon become
unsustainable. We support Earth Hour Bolivia because we are deeply concerned
about the world we will leave our children. By making simple changes in our
daily lives, each of us can make a difference."
Source: www.ens-newswire.com
10 April, 2012.