T: Is global togetherness

A trend was started about a year ago, in Australia, Sydney to be exact, of turning off lights for one hour in a show of support for protecting our environment. Soon after, London and San Francisco quickly followed suit. A year later, the organizers of Sydney’s Earth Hour felt that one city at a time doesn’t really cut it. This year the event goes global. Cities from every continent are joining together in solidarity for Earth Hour on March 29th . The event is organized by the World Wildlife Fund International. In 2008, 50 million people switched off their lights, including famous landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif., Rome's Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House, in Australia, and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square, in New York City. World Wildlife Fund is heading Earth Hour 2009. Their goal is 1 billion votes; each vote is a household or business that turns its lights out for the hour to support our planet. These votes will then be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The idea is as simple as it sounds. On March 29, 2008 at 8:00p.m. local time, every participant city will encourage businesses, community leaders and individuals to turn out their lights for one hour. Earth Hour will send a strong signal that people all around the world are deeply concerned and expect their leaders to take action before it’s too late. Climate change is a global challenge that requires global solutions and it’s clear that the people of this planet are ready to get involved and find the answers. Earth Hour does not measure the amount of energy saved during the hour of no lights, but it is not just a symbolic event meant to show political leaders the public is serious about the planet. That hour is only one aspect of Earth Hour. And while there is symbolism, Earth Hour claims aim for a larger and longer impact on peoples' lifestyles. It says it wants to encourage long-term actions that will reduce the carbon footprints on a continuing permanent basis. Lets turn off our lights for that hour and make this a F.A.C.T.