Earth Hour; Toronto among World Wildlife Fund project leaders

Earth Hour Information; Sydney, Australia idea goes global

It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?

The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Turning the lights off for Earth Hour is a great first step, but if you really want to see a difference, then make Earth Hour part of your everyday life.

Simple things like turning off appliances while not in use and switching your light globes to energy efficient bulbs, will all help us reach our goal of reducing our annual emissions by 5%. Even something as simple as turning out lights when you’re not in a room and switching to cleaner sources of electricity like “green power”, make a big difference.

Originating in Sydney in 2007, the Earth Hour campaign has now gained global attention. As a result, on 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities will unite and switch off for Earth Hour. See what is happening in your city and how you can get involved.

Major cities participating include:

* Adelaide »
* Canberra »
* Brisbane »
* Chicago »
* Christchurch »
* Copenhagen »
* Melbourne »
* Sydney »
* Tel Aviv »
* Toronto »



WWF.ca is helping organize Canadian participation in the event. On March 29, 2008, cities across Canada, and around the world will turn off their lights for Earth Hour, a WWF event to raise awareness about climate change and symbolize that, working together the people of the world can make a difference in the fight against climate change.

Earth Hour has grown from a single event in Sydney, Australia in 2007 to a global phenomenon that will occur across six continents and in as many as 20 cities in 2008.

Toronto was the flagship Canadian city to commemorate Earth Hour 2008 but dozens of others including Ottawa and Montreal have already joined!

Our goal is to get thousands of businesses and individuals to participate in this historic event, so we can show the nation and the world that Canadians are leaders in addressing climate change, one of the most critical issues facing our world today.

Don't stop at Earth Hour - live The Good Life everyday! The Good Life is WWF-Canada’s new campaign that helps Canadians track the actions they are taking for the planet so you can actually see how your actions add up to help fight climate change.

Are you a business or community planning an event? Tell us what you are doing for Earth Hour at earthhour@wwfcanada.org and we will let others know what else is happening that night around Canada.


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