Q. What is Earth Hour?
With 135 countries officially taking part in 2011, Earth Hour is a WWF initiative which has grown into the world’s largest community-driven campaign for the planet.
At the centre of the campaign is the symbolic collective action of lights out at 8:30PM on the last Saturday of March (the next Earth Hour is due to take place on Saturday 31 March 2012). Through this action, individuals, businesses and communities join a visible statement of commitment to the planet and a sustainable future for us all.
However, Earth Hour is about much more than just switching off the lights. In 2011 WWF-Australia has encouraged participants to make ongoing changes ‘beyond the hour’ to reduce their impact on the environment on ongoing basis. The introduction of the WWF Earth Hour Awards recognises the grassroots efforts of individuals from around the country doing just this.
Importantly in Australia, participation in Earth Hour is an powerful reminder to our political leaders that there is ongoing concern and demand for the government to act on the most pressing environmental issues our time. Our carbon pollution must urgently be reduced. The time for action is now.
Earth Hour is an annual event, held each year at 8:30PM on the last Saturday in March.
The next Earth Hour will be held on Saturday 31 March 2012 between 8.30PM and 9.30PM in your local time zone.
Earth Hour encourages individuals, businesses and governments to turn off their lights as a symbol of their commitment to the environment and to use the campaign as a platform to showcase the measures they are taking to reduce their environmental impact. These will hopefully inspire others to do the same.
Earth Hour asks everyone to take personal accountability for their impact on the planet and make behavioural changes to facilitate a sustainable lifestyle.
Taking the first step is as easy as turning off your lights. By switching off your lights for Earth Hour you are acknowledging and celebrating your commitment to do something more for the planet that goes beyond the hour.
No. The main point of Earth Hour is to show the world that a solution to the world’s environmental challenges is possible if we work on them together – together our actions add up!
Earth Hour only asks that you turn off non-essential lighting. This does not mean you have to turn off your refrigerator, but we do encourage you to be part of this global action by switching off your lights, as well as making a commitment to go beyond the hour with a long-term behavioural change.
Safety and security lighting should remain on.
Earth Hour began in one city in 2007 when more than two million individuals and two thousand businesses in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for one hour on Saturday 31 March 2007 to take a stand on climate change.
In the space of three short years Earth Hour grew to become a truly global movement with individuals, businesses and governments across 128 countries coming together in 2010 to show the path to a sustainable future is a collective journey. More than 1000 of the world’s man-made marvels and natural wonders, including the Pyramids in Egypt, Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, Niagara Falls, Beijing’s Forbidden City, Cape Town’s Table Mountain, Sydney Opera House, Buckingham Palace and Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, stood in darkness symbolising a landmark moment in the planet’s environmental consciousness.
Earth Hour only asks people to turn off the non-essential lights for one hour - not lights that affect public safety.
That is a decision that has to be made individually but usually the overhead lights in rooms (whether it is your house or a business), outdoor lighting that does not impact safety, computers, decorative lights, neon signs for advertising, televisions, desk lamps, the list goes on and on..
There are a few lights we can say with certainty that should NOT be turned off, including safety lights in public spaces, lights for aviation guidance, traffic lights, security lights, just to name a few. We ask people to use common sense.
Before you turn off any lights for public spaces Earth Hour recommends you check with local officials or community centres. In your own home, use common sense with respect to safety. Keep small night lights on for basic safety especially in halls and on stairs. Make sure you have alternative light sources handy before Earth Hour starts, like torches or flashlights. That way if you need to see, you have a light source close at hand, and you can still respect the spirit of Earth Hour and keep yourself and your family safe.
If you plan on burning candles during Earth Hour, please choose natural, non-petroleum based products.
If you're using candles, though, make sure you take care. We suggest you carefully follow these tips:
- Candles should only be used under adult supervision
- Candles should never be left unattended
- Candles should be kept away from children and pets
- Extinguish candles before going to sleep
- Keep candles away from flammable liquids and gas-combustible materials
- Candles should be kept clear of any combustible materials such as paper, curtains and clothing
- Candles should not be placed in windows as they can be blown over. Blinds and curtains can also catch alight
- Candles should be placed on a stable, dry, heat-resistant surface away from drafts.
Earth Hour wants everyone to be absolutely safe and never to turn off any lights or power that would in any way compromise the safety of any individual in a private or public space. While Earth Hour is asking people to turn off lights for an hour the intention is never to make anyone or any place unsafe. So please put safety first when deciding what lights to turn off during your participation.
Earth Hour is not a black out. It is a voluntary action. For many businesses in city skyscrapers or for many government buildings, the lights are turned off at the end of the business day the Friday before Earth Hour. So Earth Hour is more of a fade-out in some ways than a black-out. There is usually no instant dramatic difference, but rather a gradual dimming of lights starting the day prior.
Many major icons and neon signs are switched off for the hour and they are extremely noticeable. You may be able to see dramatic changes in large business districts or at iconic landmarks and buildings around the world and in your city.
People celebrate Earth Hour in a variety of ways for different lengths of time, with many continuing to keep their lights off well beyond the designated hour. Therefore, it is highly improbable that everyone will switch their lights back on simultaneously.
However, energy companies assure us that the unlikely scenario of all lights turning back on at the same time will not cause any issues.
Though Earth Hour began as a public statement for action on climate change, it has come to symbolise a commitment to broader environmental solutions. Earth Hour’s ‘lights out’ campaign will continue to evolve in accordance with the environmental concerns of a growing global community driven by the pursuit of a better, healthier world.
Earth Hour, is as much a celebration of the planet as it is a commitment to environmentally sustainable action, and is completely open source, i.e. it is by the people for the planet. So long as the global community wants to share a unified moment of celebration and contemplation of our planet, 8.30PM – 9.30PM on the last Saturday of March will always be Earth Hour.
The last weekend of March is around the time of the Spring and Autumn equinoxes in the northern and southern hemispheres respectively, which allows for near coincidental sunset times in both hemispheres, thereby ensuring the greatest visual impact for a global ‘lights out’ event.
More than 5,200 cities, towns and municipalities, across 135 countries took part in Earth Hour 2011 .
Landmarks across the world that stood in darkness for the hour included:
The Eiffel Tower - London Eye and Big Ben - The Empire State Building - Dubai’s Burj al Arab hotel - Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue - Athens’ Acropolis - India Gate - Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque - The Sydney Opera House
Four of the world’s five tallest buildings also turned out their lights, with the switch-off in the tallest, the 828 metre Burg Khalifa in Dubai involving around half a million lights.
Royal and presidential residences, castles and palaces in Peru, Thailand, Sweden, Madagascar and Honduras turned off their lights for an hour. Africa’s largest single housing estate, the Gwarimpa Housing Estate in Lagos, Nigeria, also took part.
Countries officially joining in 2011: Jamaica, Uganda, Swaziland, Iran, Tajikistan, Chad, Azerbaijan, Palestine, Suriname, Gibraltar, Uzbekistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Lesotho and Lebanon.
For a city, town or municipality to be officially recognised as a participant in Earth Hour it must meet at least one of the following three criteria:
Have the official support of its governing authority (e.g. Governor or Mayor)
Have confirmed participation of a significant landmark or icon
Have the support of an official Earth Hour ambassador
You can register your city, town or municipality online as an Earth Hour 2012 participant at our sign up page.
N.B. – to register your city, town or municipality you must be in a position of governing authority to do so.
If you are not in a position of authority to register your city, town or municipality we encourage you to get in contact with your local governing authority and ask them to sign up to be officially recognised as an Earth Hour participating city, town or municipality.
By registering to Earth Hour 2012, individuals, communities and businesses made both a commitment to turn their lights off for an hour at 8.30PM on Saturday 31 March, as well as a commitment to do something more for the planet that goes beyond the hour.
Participation in Earth Hour shows your friends, family, colleagues and competitors that you are want to be part of the solution to our environmental challenges by adopting environmentally sustainable lifestyle habits and business practices on an ongoing basis.
Anyone! Anyone who wants to unite with the global community in a worldwide celebration of the planet; anyone who believes a solution to our environmental challenges is possible through the aggregate of our actions.
Earth Hour does not purport to be an energy/carbon reduction exercise, it is a symbolic action. Therefore, we do not engage in the measurement of energy/carbon reduction levels.
Earth Hour is an initiative to encourage individuals, businesses and governments around the world to take accountability for their ecological footprint and engage in dialogue and resource exchange that provides real solutions to our environmental challenges.
Participation in Earth Hour symbolises a commitment to change beyond the hour.
For Earth Hour 2011 we asked people, businesses and governments to go beyond the hour, to make a commitment to an act of ongoing change that benefits the planet. There are limitless things you can do on top of switching off your lights to take Earth Hour beyond the hour. Have a look at the 'Take Action Beyond the Hour' page on this website for some ideas.
There are a host of materials on this website that will enable you to spread the Earth Hour message as far and wide as possible. Feel free to use these materials in any way you can to encourage people to switch off their lights for Earth Hour and take steps to reduce their environmental footprint on a continuing basis!
Earth Hour aims to unite communities around environmental issues by creating a forum where individuals can discuss environmental resolutions with like-minded people, by creating a channel though which businesses can exchange sustainable practices with their competitors, by building a platform that enables governments to showcase environmental leadership, and by ultimately establishing a global network of individuals, corporations and governments who are committed to the collective resolve of tackling the world’s environmental challenges.
Earth Hour aims to showcase the possibilities of a united global effort by creating an inspiring visual display of the worldwide resolution to address global warming, to show what can be done through our combined efforts, to encourage leadership through behavioural change and to demonstrate the growing desire around the world to make those changes a reality.
Earth Hour 2010 saw individuals, communities, businesses and governments across the globe come together in a moment of unity for the planet, to show the world what can be done through collective action. In more than 4500 cities and towns across 128 countries, hundreds of millions of people transcended race, culture, religion, geography and generation, uniting for Earth Hour 2010 to show leadership on the indiscriminate threat of climate change.
With the rapid adoption of Earth Hour coming to symbolise a barometer of global environmental concern, Earth Hour 2011 has asked participants to go beyond the hour by committing to acts that benefits the environment on an ongoing basis.
Earth Hour operations are run in a cost effective manner and apply donors' funds according to the highest standards of accountability and sustainability. We also consider and/or incorporate other climate or environmental issues as determined by the Earth Hour team and its partners.
In 2007, there was still a degree of scepticism and denial about the issue of climate change. Earth Hour came as the inspiration to rally people to the reality of the issue and start a dialogue about what we as individuals can do to help address the greatest problem facing our planet today.
Leo Burnett and Fairfax partnered with WWF to promote the idea and help make the campaign a reality in Sydney. The campaign has now gone beyond climate change to symbolise the growing global pursuit of a better, healthier world.
Earth Hour began as a WWF-led initiative in Australia in 2007 in partnership with brand co-owners, Fairfax Media and Leo Burnett. All three partners decided from the beginning, however, that expanding Earth Hour’s global reach would require working in partnership with any organisation. Earth Hour’s message has spanned the world with the help of many global partners.
Any partner must uphold and support the aims and principles of Earth Hour. These include encouraging individual and community engagement on environmental issues. Encouraging conscious decisions to change the way we live in order to affect environmental reform, without the use of scare tactics or shaming. The specific decisions about whether or not to partner with a group or corporation are made at local level by Earth Hour country and city teams based on what suits their needs and community in achieving the goals of Earth Hour.
Absolutely. In fact, the success of Earth Hour would not be possible without the support of other NGOs and NFPs.
Yes, please join the online community and connect with us on:
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/wwfaustralia
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/earthhouraustralia
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/earthhour
Flickr Photostream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwfaustralia
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/wwf_australia
The standard Earth Hour '60' logo represents the 60 minutes of Earth Hour where we focus on the impact we are having on our planet and take positive action to address the environmental issues we face.
For Earth Hour 2011 we have introduced the ‘60+’ logo representing a commitment to add to Earth Hour a positive act for the planet that goes beyond the hour.
