Sydney Earth Hour

SYdney's Earth Hour has taken the world by storm, albeit a storm of darkness and reflection.

Begun in Sydney, Australia in 2007, Earth Hour was initiated by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund), to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change and saw 2.2 million households turn off all non-essential lights and appliances for one hour. The following year, the message was received throughout the world and the movement went global, an approximate 50 million people switching off their lights. Iconic landmarks across the planet, such as the Sydney Opera House, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square and Rome’s Colosseum all fell into a still darkness, symbolic of the importance of increasing awareness regarding climate change and the effects our energy consumption has upon it.

This year, Earth Hour has an impressive 1,429 cities and towns in 80 countries signed up to "Vote Earth": cities as large as Sydney, Seoul, Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Mumbai and Delhi, signifying an increasing global concern regarding the future of our planet and the necessity of taking action now.

New Zealand is set to lead this charge, acting as the first country to switch off its lights at 8.30pm on March 28, the darkness sweeping across the planet as the 24 hour period continues.

Earth Hour Executive Director, Mr Andy Ridley, said that Earth Hour signals the beginning of the journey to Copenhagen, where the future of the planet rests with world leaders.

"Earth Hour will focus global attention on addressing the issue of climate change. We are asking one billion people to take part in what is essentially the first global vote for action on climate change by turning off their lights for one hour and casting a vote for earth," he said.

"Earth Hour hopes to provide a global mandate for action on climate change to the world's leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December this year, where an agreement will be made to supersede the Kyoto Protocol.

"It is imperative this agreement leads to a sustainable outcome that suitably addresses climate change. Earth Hour presents an opportunity for every person in the world to have a say in that agreement's outcome and ensure it isn't merely an insubstantial token effort by our world's leaders," said Mr Ridley.

Earth Hour is an annual event held on the last Saturday of March. For more information and to sign up and get involved, head to the Earth Hour website.