Call of darkness: Earth Hour casts shadow over globe (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

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Published time: March 31, 2012 09:52
Edited time: April 01, 2012 20:30

A statue of late Philippine senator Benigno Aquino (C), father of current Philippine President Benigno Aquino, stands illuminated as street lights are turned off to mark Earth Hour in Makati, the financial district of Manila on March 31, 2012 (AFP Photo/Noel Celis)

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Ecology, Education, Global warming, Russia, SciTech

Hour by hour, the Earth slowly plunged into darkness on Saturday. The dimming of lights is a symbolic gesture calling on the people to seek a better balance between humanity’s desire for consumption and the planet’s ability to sustain it.

This year’s Earth Hour is the sixth consecutive event to take place. What started as a local affair in Sydney back in 2007 now unites 135 countries around the world. This year, the action has been dedicated to the Arctic.

For one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. local time, public organizations, private companies and individuals have switched off the lights and unplugged power-consuming devices. The world’s most famous tourist attractions have also gone dark as their decorative lightning was switched off. London’s Big Ben, China’s Great Wall, Italy’s Coliseum, America’s Golden Gate Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral at the Vatican have been among the many Earth Hour ‘participants.’

One of the first major world monuments to cut its lights was the Auckland Sky tower, New Zealand’s tallest skyscraper. Two hours later, the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge in Australia followed suit.

“What began in Sydney as a simple idea to raise awareness of climate change – to switch off the lights for an hour – has become a global success,” Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.

In 2012, the event organized by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and supported by the United Nations has spilled into space. The crew of the International Space Station has also been part of the global green action. European astronaut and WWF ambassador André Kuipers was taking photos and video footage of the Earth from orbit.

Another great scientific and technological facility, the Large Hadron Collider, remained powered for the duration of the day. However, physicists working there were going to turn off the lights in their labs to mark their support for the event, the European Organization for Nuclear Research said.

And in Russia, some 15 million people observed the Earth Hour this year, its organizers claim.

A combination picture shows the Sydney Harbour Bridge and city skyline on March 29, 2012 (top) before Earth Hour, and during Earth Hour March 31, 2012. (Reuters / Tim Wimborne)

Philippine police hold candles as they join the celebration of Earth Hour in Manila's Makati financial district March 31, 2012. (Reuters / Cheryl Ravelo)

People walk next to the Oriental Pearl Tower at Shanghai's financial district during Earth Hour March 31, 2012. (Reuters / Carlos Barria)

Youths hold candles as they participate in Earth Hour after lights were turned off at the Welcome Statue in Jakarta March 31, 2012. (Reuters / Supri Supri)

This combo of pictures shows Seoul's landmark the Seoul Tower before (L) and after (R) its lights were turned off for the 6th annual Earth Hour global warming campaign at Seoul on March 31, 2012. (AFP Photo / Kim Jae-Hwan)

Indian girls hold solar powered lamps at a gathering to mark the sixth global Earth Hour in Mumbai on March 31, 2012. (AFP Photo / Punit Paranjpe)

This combination of pictures shows Malaysia's iconic Patronas Twin Towers, photographed illuminated (left), before Earth Hour and unlit (right), during Earth Hour in Kuala Lumpur on March 31, 2012. (AFP Photo / Saeed Khan)

Young women hold candles as they stand in the opera house square to mark the sixth global Earth Hour on March 31, 2012 in Hanoi. (AFP Photo / Hoang Dihn Nam)

Comments (33)

Definite Lee 02.04.2012 03:29

The earth once received more warmth from internal thermonuclear fusion, and less heat from a young sun. Internal heat died down while external heat from the sun increased. This also caused a larger shift in temperature between winter and summer. The sun has gotten about as hot as it will ever get, and internal heat from the earth's core will continue to die out. Eventu ally, the sun will begin to cool as well. Anybo dy who hasn't been fooled by the present global warming propaganda can see that the overall future means a colder earth. Ther ewill be minor ups and downs in temperature along the way, but the overall trend will be downward. T his isn't even bringing into the argument that the earth's orbit changes over time, and as it becomes more elliptical and less round, further climate changes will occur to some degree. Als o, the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere has varied by a factor of at least 2 over earth's history. To xicity from industrial gas emissions far outweighs any heating or cooling effects, but are not being talked about as much......it would affect profits of large multi-national corporations.

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Justin (unregistered) 02.04.2012 03:23

It makes me sick to see these people turn off the lights for an hour and light candles and think that they are making a difference. Do these people actually think that they are helping the situation? Is it a religious thing? I don't get it at all. I mean.. how much money did those people pay for those candles? Where was the electricity comming from? Was it comming from a Hydro Electric Dam? Did the generators in the Dam stop turning when they turned the lights out? Did the dam give way and let the fish swim up stream? Was the electricity comming from a Nuclear Facility? Did they shut off the Nuclear Reactors? Am I the only one that sees this event for what it is? I mean, it's as-if you are pulling the wool over these childrens eyes.. making them believe that turning off their lights is going to help. NO NO NO... we need Scientists, Engineers, Einsteins.. and THEY ARE GOING EXTINCT! All we have left is Ipod using monkeys that believe that there is an App for that and that food comes from the grocery store. We are gonners!

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Justin (unregistered) 02.04.2012 03:02

Global warming is not a scam. It doesn't matter how it is happenning.. it IS happening and it's way too late to reverse it because the permafrost is melting and releasing even more C02. There will be global water shortages and food crisises all over the world because crops will begin to die off in the warmer climate. Large and complex animals always go extinct first. Simple organisms will be fine. Jelly Fish existed before humans and will be here long after.

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