I was listening to local radio the other day when an announcement came on to the effect that today, Saturday 28th March, people were being asked to switch off their lights for an hour as part of Earth Hour. Intrigued, I wondered what this was about. Then today when I looked at my emails there was one from a friend posting the link to a website where all was revealed. The project, organised by the WWF, is entitled Earth Hour, and just as the presenter said, on Saturday 28 March 2009 at 8.30pm, people, businesses and iconic buildings all around the world will switch off their lights for an hour – known as WWF’s Earth Hour.
The WWF are hoping that a billion people around the world will sign up and join in, to show that they care about not just people, but also wildlife and the entire planet. It seems to me that this is an excellent way to get our world leaders to sit up and take notice, taking positive action to tackle not just climate change (which I know is a bone of contention for many, as some believe that it is all due to natural changes and not man made at all), but also man's wastage of natural resources. Those who are interested to know more are urged to watch a short film on the Earth Hour website.
It will certainly be interesting to see this on the news tonight, as more than 2,800 cities from 83 countries across the world have signed up. A large number of iconic landmarks will be plunged into darkness, including Nelson’s Column, the Forth Bridge, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the Eiffel Tower, Niagara Falls, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town.
I realise that it may be a little late to organise elaborate events, but there is a lot that you can do in the dark (apart from the obvious, if you are over sixteen!). You could arrange a candlelit dinner party, or if you are a musician, an acoustic concert. You could sit and meditate for world peace, or you could take the dog for a walk. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
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