Earth Hour 2008

Earth Hour 2007 was a Sydney event. Earth Hour 2008 is a global movement.

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

About Earth Hour

On March 31 2007, for one hour, Sydney made a powerful statement about the greatest contributor to global warming – coal-fired electricity – by turning off its lights. Over 2.2 million Sydney residents and over 2,100 businesses switched off, leading to a 10.2% energy reduction across the city. What began as one city taking a stand against global warming caught the attention of the world.

In 2008, 24 global cities will participate in Earth Hour at 8pm on March 29. Earth Hour is the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut their emissions on an ongoing basis. It is about simple changes that will collectively make a difference – from businesses turning off their lights when their offices are empty, to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby.

Lights off for an hour, please

PENANGITES have been urged to turn off their home lights for an hour, between 8pm and 9pm on Satruday, to participate in the Earth Hour campaign in conjunction with Malaysia's first Earth Day.

Penang Family Planning Association’s (FPA) Youth Advisor Centre (YAC) chairman Oh Chin Eng said they aimed at achieving 5% reduction in electricity usage on that day.

“We want to join 24 other cities worldwide to reduce global warming,” he said.

Earth Hour started as a joint initiative among WWF-Australia, Fairfax Media and Leo Burnett for the city of Sydney with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Sydney by 5% in 2007.

But when some 2.2 million Sydney residents participated in Earth Hour on March 31 last year by switching off their lights for an hour, it resulted in 10.2%. reduction in electricity usage.

“It will be a relaxing moment and by doing nothing, we are actually doing something,” he said at a press conference at FPA in Jelutong yesterday .

He said those interested could sign up for Earth Hour at www.earthhour.org/user/SLC6.

Tanjong Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu, who was also at the press conference, said he would call on the state government to support the campaign.

According to a report by Reuters, as many as 30 million people from 24 cities are expected to switch off lights and televisions around the world to help fight climate change by joining the campaign.

Among the cities joining Earth Hour are Atlanta, San Francisco, Bangkok, Ottawa, Dublin, Vancouver, Montreal, Phoenix, Copen-hagen and Aarhus, Manila, Fiji’s capital Suva, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Christchurch, Toronto, Odense and Aalborg, as well as several major Australian cities.

Andy Ridley, who is Earth Hour’s executive director, said other iconic buildings to be plunged into darkness this year include San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Chicago’s Sears Tower and Soldier Field Stadium football ground, as well as the 553m CN Tower in Toronto.