Today at 8.30pm it's Earth Hour and all over the world people who want to show their support and raise awareness of our use of energy and the impact that our consumption of non renewable fossil fuel is having on the planet will turn off all their lights for one hour.
I turn off all electricity for one hour! In a house full of teenagers and one toddler this goes down a storm!
I personally don't necessarily believe that climate change is completely down to us, I think that the earth since time began here has gone through cycles without the need for human interference but I do think that depleting the earth of all it's resources can only be a bad thing and I introduced Earth hour to my family in order to make my children more socially aware and to realise that we take something as simple as electricity for granted.
The following information's taken from the WWF earth hour website
Why get involved?
Put simply, because our future depends on it!
Earth Hour has done a lot to raise awareness of sustainability issues. But there’s more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It’s all about giving people a voice and working together to create a better future for our planet.
EARTH HOUR HISTORICAL TIMELINE taken from WWF earth hour website
2004
WWF Australia begins to look at new ways to take climate change mainstream after being confronted with serious scientific data
WWF Australia meets with advertising agency, Leo Burnett Sydney to discuss ideas for engaging Australians on the issue of climate change
2005
A campaign based on hope not fear, and the idea that everyone can take personal responsibility for the future of the planet we live on, is envisioned
WWF Australia and Leo Burnett Sydney start developing the concept of a large scale switch off. The project has the working title, "The Big Flick"
2006
Leo Burnett is tasked with the challenge of coming up with a campaign name that represents more than simply flicking off lights –Earth Hour is born. The Earth Hour name allows the campaign to broaden the focus from “lights out” to sustainability
WWF Australia and Leo Burnett Sydney take the concept of Earth Hour to Fairfax Media asking Fairfax to back the event – they agree
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP agrees to support
Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth movie is released bringing worldwide attention to the issue of climate change
The Stern Report, which discusses the effects of climate change and global warming on the world economy, is released in October. Words of warning for what lays ahead from an economist – not from a scientist - sends a warning to governments globally about the cost of ignoring the threat of climate change
31 March 2007
The inaugural Earth Hour is held in Sydney Australia 7.30pm - 8.30pm, 2.2 million Sydneysiders and 2,100 businesses participate
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases a report highlighting the risks of rising temperatures, further highlighting the need for urgent solutions
April 2007
Plans are developed to make Earth Hour a national event in Australia, but international interest is high and cities began signing up to the next Earth Hour campaign
29 March 2008
Earth Hour is held in 371 cities and towns in more than 35 countries globally at 8pm-9pm. A highly conservative estimate concludes that 50 million people participate. This number could have been as high as 100 million people
28 March 2009
Earth Hour held on Saturday March 28 at 8.30pm-9.30pm. Hundreds of millions of people in more than 4,000 cities and towns across 88 countries switched off their lights for one hour, creating a visual mandate for action on climate change effectively kick-starting the world’s first global vote.
July 2009
Earth Hour's Vote Earth campaign releases the Vote Earth symbol calling on citizens of the world to show their vote for Earth over Global Warming.
November 2009
Earth Hour’s Vote Earth launches The People’s Orb, a shimmering silver sphere encasing a 350 gigabyte hard drive with video, images and documents representing the hundreds of millions of people who voted Earth to call for action on climate change. A tangible representation of the voice of the world’s people, The People’s Orb relays from Sydney to Copenhagen in the care of a variety of custodians ranging from former heads of state to iconic rock stars.
December 2009
Global awareness of climate change soars to unprecedented levels during an historic meeting of 192 nations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Vote Earth campaign culminates on 16th December with Earth Hour Copenhagen. The People’s Orb, is entrusted to UN Chef de Cabinet, Vijay Nambiar to be presented to world leaders. The People’s Orb takes centre stage in the plenary on the final day of the conference alongside UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, in front of President of the United States, Barack Obama, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, COP President and Climate Minister Connie Hedegaard and over 100 heads of state.
27 March 2010
Earth Hour is held on Saturday March 27 at 8.30pm-9.30pm and succeeds in being a global call to action to stand up, to take responsibility, and lead the global journey to a sustainable future. A record 128 countries and territories take part and iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas stand in darkness.
26 March 2011
Earth Hour will be held on Saturday March 26 at 8.30pm-9.30pm wherever you are in the world. This Earth Hour we want you to go beyond the hour, to think about what else you can do to make a difference when the lights turn back on. So save the date and keep coming back to earthhour.org to find out what’s in store.
