Earth Hour a wake-up call for Copenhagen meet

31 March 2009

If the previous two 'Earth Hour' events were successful in calling attention to climate change, then this year's edition can fairly be described as an unprecedented blockbuster. From the remote Chatham Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean to Sydney's Opera House to the Eiffel Tower to the Empire State Building to Seattle's Space Needle, lights dimmed for an hour in a symbolic call to action on the environment front.

It began over the Chatham Islands on 28 March, and from there, time zone by time zone, Earth Hour 2009 marched around the globe, with hundreds of cities and communities and millions of individuals dimming or dousing their lights. In all, nearly 1,000 global landmarks went dark for an hour, including the dome of St. Peters in the Vatican and the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro.

While Earth Hour sponsor Worldwide Fund for Nature (better known by its old name of World Wildlife Fund) did not have full data yet, it estimated that the participation far exceeded that of 2008, when some 53 million people in 371 cities in 35 countries participated. The 2007 inaugural Earth Hour was limited to Sydney, Australia.

World leaders are scheduled to meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December to hammer out more climate change controls. Yvo de Boer, the United Nations' top climate change official, said Earth Hour marked a global momentum to seek climate change mandates in the Kyoto Protocol, including controlling heat emissions.

WWF officials called Earth Hour the first-ever global vote on the future of the planet. "The true power of Earth Hour can be seen in the tremendous opportunity for individuals, communities, businesses and governments around the world to unite for a common purpose, against a common threat which affects us all," said US WWF president and chief executive Carter Roberts.

"As the world witnessed Saturday night, the simple action of turning off lights can inspire people around the world to take action and to make a serious long-term commitment to living more sustainable lives," he added.