A Flick of a Switch

Have you heard about the World Wildlife Fund’s “Earth Hour”? On Saturday 28 March 2009, at 8:30 p.m., people, businesses and iconic buildings around the world will switch off their lights for one hour – WWF’s Earth Hour. The campaign will kickstart WWF’s Global Deal campaign to convince governments to agree on effective action for fighting climate change, leading up to December’s UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

Some 377 cities from 74 countries have already signed up to take part in Earth Hour. Many iconic landmarks including the Forth Bridge, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town and the Sydney Opera House will be cloaked in darkness for the hour.

You can register to take part as an individual, organisation, school or business. Once you’ve registered, WWF will send you information on what you can do to become more involved in Earth Hour, including resources and tips. You could arrange a movie night or host a candlelight dinner party, for example. WWF even has menu suggestions. Or you could persuade your local pub to put on a pub quiz in the dark.

Earth Hour is a wonderful way to unite people from all over the world in a common cause: stopping global warming. WWF will host a booth a UK Aware this year, so make sure to stop by and learn about all the various ways the organisation is working to save the planet and conserve its resources, and how you can help.