The World Wildlife Fund of Australia anticipates that 121 countries will participate in its Earth Hour initiative, March 27 at 8:30-9:30 pm, local time, with millions expected to switch off the lights in a symbolic vote to take action on climate change.
The largest worldwide climate change awareness campaign, Earth Hour grew from 2.2 million participants in Sydney, Australia in 2007 to 50 million worldwide in 2008. Last year that number increased from 400 to 4,000 cities in 88 countries.
Lights went out at virtually every major iconic attraction, from the Pyramids at Giza in Egypt to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as people gathered by candlelight in places as far apart as Bangkok and Helsinki.
Earth Hour has created a list of recommendations of things to do in the dark including attending local Earth Hour events listed on its website:
1. Plan a party
2. Gaze at the stars
3. Enjoy dinner by candlelight
4. Organize a treasure hunt in the dark
5. Take the dog for a moonlit walk
6. Soak in a bath by candlelight
7. Tell stories around a campfire
8. Play board games
9. Get romantic with a loved one
10. Play and listen to acoustic music - and dance in the dark
Take photos and videos of activities and upload to Flickr and YouTube, then add them to the Earth Hour Flickr group and the global YouTube Group. www.flickr.com/groups/earthhour
Actor Ed Norton has been the official ambassador for the initiative joined by celebrities involved in supporting the cause, including Alanis Morissette, Coldplay and Lady Antebellum, Nobel Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, model Gisele Bundchen and husband American football player Tom Brady who shot PSAs this year.
Toolkits on the website are available to host an event, providing global warming information and ways to reduce the carbon footprint. www.earthhour.org
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FclcMfzjwug&feature=player_embedded
www.Facebook.com/WorldWildlifeFund
www.twitter.com/EarthHour
RC
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