On March 27, the World Wildlife Fund encourages millions of people all over the world to join together and perform one simple action to help make a strong statement by turning off their lights. From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., local time, people are encouraged to express their concern for climate change by going dark in solidarity.
What can just one hour of “lights out” accomplish? According to the Earth Hour website, “Earth Hour sends a clear message that Americans care about this issue and want to turn the lights out on dirty air, dangerous dependency on foreign oil and costly climate change impacts, and make the switch to cleaner air, a strong economic future and a more secure nation.” Last year, over one billion people participated in the global event, which involved 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents.
Cities help encourage their citizens to participate by having major landmarks go dark; during Earth Hour 2009 the lights were turned off on the Empire State Building, Seattle Space Needle, MGM Grand and many other famous landmarks. In addition to support from cities and corporations, many celebrities lend their voices to support Earth Hour and the impact it has. Two such celebs, Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bundchen, recently filmed PSAs to encourage fans to participate in Earth Hour 2010.
In Tom Brady’s PSA, the New England Patriot says: “During Earth Hour, 100s of millions of people around the world will come together to make a bold statement about their concerns for climate change by doing something quite simple: turning of their lights for one hour. So please join me, the World Wildlife Fund, and the rest of the planet on March 27 for Earth Hour, and remember to turn off your lights starting at 8:30 p.m. Thank you.”
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen says the following in her Earth Day message: “Millions of people all over the world are coming together on March 27 to turn off their lights and send a clear message that now is the time to act on climate change. So please join me and the World Wildlife Fund for one hour: Earth Hour on March 27 at 8:30 p.m., and make the switch to a better, cleaner world. Lights off, candles on.”
To learn more about Earth Hour and how the World Wildlife Fund is working to conserve global resources, protect wildlife and save natural habitats, visit the Earth Hour toolkit area. And remember: On March 27 at 8:30 your time, lights out, candles on! It’s only one hour, and think of the global impact a simple flick of a switch can have.
Photo by PR Photos, Empire State Building “Before” and “After” courtesy of Jin Lee.