Earth Hour gains steam around world

By Nora Strehl
Western Herald

The Earth is asking for our help, and for the first time in history, the people of the world will get a chance to answer it.

On March 28, at 8:30 p.m. local time, different countries around the world will be asked to participate in Earth Hour.  By switching off lights, each person can participate in the first global election, ever.

Already 2,140 cities, in 82 different countries, have committed, and that number increases hourly, according earthhour.org.

“It is our hope [World Wildlife Fund] that everyone will switch off their lights and vote earth, while aiming for a goal of one billion,” Dan Forman, public relations manager for the World Wildlife Fund, said.

The results obtained from this election will be represented at the United Nations’ Climate Change Convention, or COP15, the  15th annual Conference of the Parties.

The Conference stretches from Dec. 7 to Dec. 18 of this year, in Copenhagen, Denmark and the verdict will decide what actions we need to take in order to put a halt to this global crisis.

Earth Hour began in Australia in 2007, a whopping 2.2 million homes shut off their power, and according  to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2007, there were 6.8 trillion people inhabiting North America alone.

It was obvious that the people of the world needed to spread the word about Earth Hour; and by 2008, the trend moved quickly to 50 trillion people participating and the rest is, as they say, history.

“It is a symbolic movement to raise awareness on climate change, a united call to action,” Forman said.  “If everyone could turn off their lights for a week, it would not have a significant effect for this battle, it is simply a visual message to elected officials that we stand behind them, that this is something we support and that needs to be addressed.”

The point of this movement is to educate others about global warming, and at the same time, spread the word to elected officials. In turn, they can work to eliminate the environmental footprints’ that surround all of us.

Earthhour.org has made the sending of this visual message much easier by giving the option to either contact officials directly and/or registering individual votes.

The first thing is to register votes on the Web site.

“By registering, you won’t be signing up to get a bunch of spam mail, it is just another method of capturing how many people are behind this movement,” Forman said.
The catch is going online to register before this event takes place.

The second thing that can be done is with a simple click of a button.  A letter can be sent to President Barack Obama, or other state or federal elected officials, to encourage them to participate in this movement.

Another action that is only a click away is e-mailing family and friends in the hopes of spreading the word on this popular issue.  They can also sign up on the Web site.

One other way the Web site is allowing individuals to contribute their ideas, experiences and knowledge, is by updating photos and videos on what their plan is for Earth Hour 2009.

Carolyn Noack, recycling and waste reduction manager hopes that Western Michigan University students participate in the hour.

“This activity could raise awareness of our personal effects on the global climate,” Noack said.  “Even small actions, when taken, will make a great effect.  I want to show that if we work together it will make a difference.”

WMU monitors electricity usage on campus every fifteen minutes.

“We’re going to look at this Saturday’s electricity usage, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and compare it to other Saturdays and see if there is a difference,” Noack said. “We need to convince people that are here, living in apartments and residence halls, that this is something important; they need to participate.”

For more information on this event go to www.earthhour.org