Join thousands across the globe for an hour of darkness, when Earth Hour begins at 8.30 tomorrow night.
Earth Hour is a symbolic gesture of commitment to tackling global warming, which sees communities, businesses and individuals switching off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for 60 minutes. As 8.30 hits each time time zone, Earth Hour creates a Mexican Wave of commitment to reduced carbon emissions around the world.
The first Earth Hour was held on the 31st of March 2007 in Sydney, when the Australian branch of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) came up with the idea. Since then it has become an international phenomenon, which WWF continues to organise. The 2013 event saw 7,000 towns and cities taking part, and this year will see the likes of the Eiffel Tower and the Strip in Las Vegas plunged into darkness.
According to the President of the WWF Carter Roberts, “Earth Hour is an event that is designed to raise people’s consciousness, to show people that they can take positive steps to make a difference and to knit together the global community in taking action at the same time.”
By Aimee MacLeod
