About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global initiative in partnership with WWF. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 26, 2011 at 8:30 PM to show their support for environmentally sustainable action. The event began in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. By 2010, Earth Hour had created history as the largest voluntary action ever witnessed with participation across 128 countries and territories and every continent, including the world’s most recognized man-made marvels and natural wonders in a landmark environmental action.

From earthhour.org

The Empire State and the Chrysler buildings in New York City, along with landmarks from the Eiffel Tower to Sydney harbor, went dark for an hour on Saturday to raise awareness over the fight against climate change.

After the white-shelled roof of the Sydney Opera House fell dark, after Taiwan's skyscrapers dimmed and Beijing's Forbidden City became, well, a little more forbidding - it was Moscow's turn to turn out the lights as Saturday's global Earth Hour event rolled around to Europe.

Millions of people worldwide were switching off lights and appliances for an hour from 8:30 p.m. in a gesture to highlight environmental concerns and to call for a binding pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions. This year's was the fourth annual Earth Hour, organized by the World Wildlife Fund.

Mission, History & Earth Hour 2010

On Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people, organizations, corporations and governments around the world will come together to make a bold statement about their concern for climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. In the U.S. where we are already feeling the impacts of climate change, Earth Hour sends a clear message that Americans care about this issue and want to turn the lights out on dirty air, dangerous dependency on foreign oil and costly climate change impacts, and make the switch to cleaner air, a strong economic future and a more secure nation.

The president of the House of Representatives, Michel Temer, and the president of the Senate, José Sarney, both signed the pledge to EH.

Senator Marina Silva also pledged her support to Earth Hour 2010.

Antarctic research unit signs up to switch off ensuring lights go out across every continent
• More than 118 countries and regions to observe Earth Hour’s message of hope and action
• Google and UEFA join global action on climate change

China’s most significant historic landmark, the Forbidden City in Beijing, will turn off its lights for Earth Hour at 8.30pm on Saturday March 27, in a dramatic display of action on global warming from the world’s most populous nation.

• 121 countries and territories across all seven continents to participate in global climate action
• Great Pyramids and Sphinx to lead Earth Hour’s landmark action on global warming
• Football superclub, Real Madrid, joins the greatest team ever assembled to tackle climate change
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu delivers an Earth Hour appeal to the planet

Tomorrow night at 8.30pm local time, the national government of Tuvalu will switch off power to the low-lying island nation, as one of the first countries to set in motion a 24-hour wave of hope and action on climate change that will sweep the world for Earth Hour.

Earth Hour 2010
It’s as simple as a flick of the switch.

What began in 2007 as a campaign to get Sydneysiders to turn their lights off, has grown to become one of the world’s biggest climate change initiatives. In 2010, at 8.30pm on March 27, people around the world will turn their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. Join more than 1 billion people who, together, can reinvigorate our fight against human-induced climate change.

By MICHAEL TOTTY

It's a tall order: Over the next few decades, the world will need to wean itself from dependence on fossil fuels and drastically reduce greenhouse gases. Current technology will take us only so far; major breakthroughs are required.

A few years ago, my family gathered in Mississippi for a funeral. While we were there, we undertook the renovation of a living area and found it was quick and easy to make some energy efficient choices.

August 25, 2009