Earth Hour 2010: Climate Change Awareness Around the Clock Around the World

Last night Earth Hour took place; it is an hour when people around the world are invited to dim unnecessary lighting to promote environmental awareness regarding climate change. The hour to dim lights depended on one's location; lights were to be dimmed between 8:30pm to 9:30pm local time. The first Earth Hour was held in Sydney Australia dreamed up by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Sydney Morning Herald - at the time 2.2 Million Australians took part in the display. In 2008, 50 Million participated around the world; in 2009, hundreds of millions; in 2010, one billion participated.

Over 125 countries and regions, around 3,500 cities and towns, on all 7 continents including Antarctica, 1,300 iconic landmarks (including the Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, the Sphinx, Christ the Redeemer, Victoria Falls, the Forbidden City, and Red Fort) all took part in the global message against climate change. In its headquarters in New York, the United Nations also observed Earth hour. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called Earth Hour "both a warning and a beacon of hope... By switching off non-essential lights for an hour, people will join a symbolic display that can inspire the change we so urgently need... As we watch the lights go out from continent to continent, let us reflect on the fragility and importance of our natural heritage and pledge to protect it for a sustainable future for all... Solutions are within our grasp and are ready to be implemented by individuals, communities, businesses and governments around the globe."

Globally, climate change is falling further and further behind as a concern for citizens across the globe. Frazzled by questionable studies, scientific conspiracy, and poorly educated media coverage it appears that not only are people armed with their opinions they are armed with relatively credible sources. All it takes is one misinformed quote and the discussion on climate change and its consequences can go long and hard into the night, all the while carbon emissions and temperatures rise. The public disenchantment can be seen in this  Earth Hour quote on the widely read tech blog Gizmodo: "We here at Giz think it's a God-given right to have access to gadgets at all times. For the WWF to try and take that liberty from us is unacceptable and downright Un-American. That's why we're asking from 9-10 pm on Saturday night, you pull out every gadget you own, plug it into a socket, and turn it on. Gadget Deprivation is no laughing matter, kids. Please join the fight."

Please choose the right side. Climate change is a major issue that has and will continue to affect our air quality, water supply, land resources, economic prosperity, etc. In displaying a concerted & global act billions of people stated their care for climate change- the next Earth Hour will be held in March 2011, as is the tradition, the fourth Saturday in March.

Photo Credit: wwf.org