For the fourth consecutive year, Earth Hour will be celebrated tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. (local time) with people all over the world encouraged to power down and turn off the lights for 60 minutes in support of the fight against climate change.
Organized by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), Earth Hour originated in Australia four years ago when over 2 million people and more than 2,000 businesses powered down their lights for an hour as a protest against climate change. A year later the symbolic act was repeated by more than 50 million people across the planet, with such landmarks as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, and Rome’s Colosseum all turning off the lights for 60 minutes.
By 2009 and 2010, millions more people were participating in thousands of cities across the world. Tomorrow night’s event is poised to be the world’s largest global climate change initiative ever.
When you switch off the lights (and computers and TVs and cellphones and iPads) tomorrow night, talk to your kids about ways your family can make a difference after Earth Hour concludes at 9:30 p.m. Light some candles, cuddle up with a book or brainstorm ways that your family can conserve on a regular basis.
The WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature. Our planet is the one thing everyone living on it has in common, and it’s up to us to ensure we leave it in good shape when we leave it in our kids’ capable hands.
Will your family turn out the lights at 8:30 tomorrow night
Image: Wikimedia Commons