From EarthHour.org:
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.
We’ve already put all our energy vampires on powerstrips, including the TV and cable boxes, so we can turn them off when we’re not awake and at home. Not only does this save on our electricity bills, it helps lower energy consumption as a whole by a tiny amount. If everyone did this, we could reduce the “need” for more polluting power plants to be built.
On March 29th, from 8:00-9:00 pm wherever you are, turn off the lights!