Environmentalists Hail Earth Hour As A Big Success

BONN, Germany — For environmental activists, the message was clear: Earth Hour was a huge success.

Now they say nations have a mandate to tackle climate change.

"The world said yes to climate action, now governments must follow," the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said Sunday, a day after hundreds of millions of people worldwide followed its call to turn off lights for a full hour.

From an Antarctic research base and the Great Pyramids of Egypt, from the Colosseum in Rome to the Empire State building in New York, illuminated patches of the globe went dark Saturday night to highlight the threat of climate change. Time zone by time zone, nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries dimmed nonessential lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

WWF called the event, which began in Australia in 2007 and grew last year to 400 cities worldwide, "the world's first-ever global vote about the future of our planet."

The United Nations' top climate official, Yvo de Boer, called the event a clear sign that the world wants negotiators seeking a climate change agreement to set an ambitious course to fight global warming.

Talks in Bonn this week are the latest round in an effort to craft a deal to control emissions of the heat-trapping gases responsible for global warming. They are due to culminate in Copenhagen this December.

"Earth Hour was probably the largest public demonstration on climate change ever," de Boer told delegates from 175 nations. "Its aim was to tell every government representative to seal a deal in Copenhagen. The world's concerned citizens have given the negotiations an additional and very clear mandate."

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Earth Hour officially began when the Chatham Islands, 500 miles (800 kilometers) east of New Zealand, switched off its diesel generators. It moved on through Asia, Europe and then crossed the Atlantic to North and South America.

"Earth Hour has always been a positive campaign," said Earth Hour executive director Andy Ridley. "It's always around street parties, not street protests, it's the idea of hope, not despair. And I think that's something that's been incredibly important this year because there is so much despair around."

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Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

Earth Hour: http://www.earthhour.org

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Earth Hour video: http://sn.im/enqwn

Comments

[El.Kabong]

Dark pyramids are all well and good, but I'd rather see satellite before and after pics. I'd say if you can see a difference at all, you got a mandate...
-ek

[SonofLiberty1]

You don't even need that....

Tell me that the Milky Way casts a shadow outside your house...

If it doesn't or if your can't even see it...there's your observational evidence.

[Jazzman323]

We turned on every light in the house last night at 8:30 to oppose the nonsense of global warming and the destructive idea of cap and trade policies derived from this hoax.

The administration should be implementing real energy policies like offshore drilling and nuclear power. The earth's climate will continue to change throughout time regardless of what we do.

[Puzlfxr]

I'm with you on this
"The earth's climate will continue to change throughout time regardless of what we do."
Did you know it has been getting warmer for the last 20,000 yrs.

Change is the only constant.

[4funofit]

fck the facts that it could be the industrial pollution. I guess you can not have an effect.

What happens if you do not flush the toilet for a week?

So I guess you do have an effect on your surroundings then.

[4funofit]

Where did you get that info from didohead. That is not a talking piont is it?

[jan4insight]

Have you been taking jerk lessons all your life, or were you born this way?

[Jazzman323]

I am sorry, but you are the jerk if you are believing the global warming nonsense that Al Gore and the Democrats have been trying to push for years. Every day more credible climate scientist denounce this theory.

If Al Gore were serious he would debate the issue, but he wont, calling it "silly" to debate. He knows he would lose.

I don't care if you want to believe in this stuff, as long as we don't pass any legislation or spend money down a hole to "fix" this non-issue.

[fiorastar]

Let's start with drilling under your home. Will your children keep the spent nuclear fuel rods in their rooms for us?

[Annespeaks]

Earth Hour is better than nothing. At least some people are trying - to save a little energy, to learn to consume less and to get a little media attention which, let's be honest, is one of the most powerful tools in the modern world. So can all the skeptics and doubters please try to get on board. When this began in Sydney, the idea was - it can't hurt. It can only help. And if it grows, it could just be transformative.

[Puzlfxr]

Yesterday it was nice out 50F or so
Now it is snowy and cold
Please quit causing climate change by shutting off the lights around the globe.

[peacefrogs]

Why can't every hour be Earth Hour?

[Puzlfxr]

We could do it 5 times a day
while kneeling and praying to our messiah

[ImagesAndAdjectives]

Who do you pray to? Walmart? The coal fired electricity plant? Your Suburban?

[davidhilton1]

or at least have "earth hour" awareness every hour...that would be a start...

[klondiker]

Okay, so maybe Earth Hour itself is not going to solve all of our environmental problems. But, it's not supposed to solve all the problems. It's supposed to shed light (if you'll pardon the expression) on the issue of conservation, and why conservation has to be a part of whatever institutiional solutions there will be.

And, let's face it: it's kind of fun!

[hippie chucker]

Conservation?
Why not wait for a market based solution to the problem?
It's like being content to ride a horse, when you could drive a car, because you abhor the car's emissions.
You guys are such Luddites.

Solving the issue of energy use is the biggest cash prize in modern times.
We don't need to conserve. We need to wait for the market to offer solutions that don't involve restricting peoples lifestyles, to fit an environmentalists image of what ideal consumption is.

Because, your idea of consumption, and mine, are completely different. A leading environmentalist in England is calling for a reduction in poplulation, to, you guessed it, cut consumption. That what you had in mind?

[StanlyManly]

Are you suggesting that great monetary rewards await the development of new technologies that deliver a product and/or service that is in high demand?

Preposterous! According to most comments here, the real solution would seem to be spreading out to communes and small villages to not "pollute" the environment with our horrible light, walking between vegan street vendors as we carefully avoid stepping on any plants, gathering around the campfire to exchange rumors of what might be happening in the village down the river, and praying for a good harvest this season.

Excuse my regression into sarcasm, but regression seems to be the order of the day.

[fiorastar]

Yes, and the world used to await the alchemist who could turn lead into gold...but the smart people saved their seed for the next spring's planting, preserved the food they had in abundance in the summer so they could live through the winter, and used what they had wisely so there was enough for the whole family, tribe, or community.

[Spiritof1982]

Conserving energy is the stopgap that will give us time for solutions to emerge. The fact is that people who advocate energy conservation aren't Luddites (nice try, cutesy), they are simply not lazy. The majority of the American population is so lazy that it refuses to make even the simplest lifestyle changes that will preserve the human environment. Remember that this is the environment that sustains human life, not just pretty plants and baby animals.

I have a job crosstown in Denver, Colorado. I commute by bike, eat a vegetarian diet, and I make my home as energy efficient as possible. What trouble to me have these choices been? I spend an extra 30min commuting every day (but I get a good portion of my daily workout during that time as well). The benefits? I actually interact with my city on a daily basis, I am extraordinarily healthy, and I have more money in my pocket at the end of the day than carnivorous, serial-commuting, spendthrifts. Conservation and lifestyle changes along these lines actually make great market sense for everyone.

[ImagesAndAdjectives]

The market can't solve environmental problems because neo-classical economics' goal is ever-increasing commoditization. That means that it can only solve problems through ever-increasing throughput of resources for the manufacture of goods that can be mass-produced, bought and sold for a profit.

What we have is more stuff, not better quality of life. We spend less time with family and community because we're working 60 hours a week trying to pay off our big cars and big houses and big screen TVs. Meanwhile, our kids are stuck in daycare with strangers and we hardly know our neighbors. We're getting fatter, more dependent on corporations and government for our wellbeing (agribusiness, water supply, electricity, education).

Read "Ecological Economics" or "Privileged Goods" - both very dense and complete in their examination of our current economic model and why it will never solve our ecological crisis.

We need to strive toward better quality of life - better health, more time with family, richer communities, healthier foods and better education. What we don't need are more gadgets and electronics taking us away from really LIVING our lives.

[SonofLiberty1]

Actually "Real Change" happened for an hour last night.

What am I talking about?
Take another look at all those photos..
Lights on and Lights off...
What are we looking at..

Buildings that have interior lights on...all night long.

Other buildings that may have light going straight up into the night sky.

Pretty to look at right? Something that most of us don't really think about.

But it's just plain wasteful period...

Maybe it's time now to live within our means and be mindful of
excesses?

[hippie chucker]

Or, we could invent new technologies, that make power cheaper, cleaner, and not have to sacrifice quality of life.

[SonofLiberty1]

Having your outdoor lighting on all night every night...

Long after the Malls have closed...

Long after the stores have closed...

Only guarantees ONE CORPORATION PROFIT...

YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC COMPANY

AND ALL OF US PAY THE BILL IN HIGHER ELECTRIC RATES, IN HIGHER PRICES
AT THE MALL...

ETC.

[AmbivalentGuy]

Yes.
Why publicly act responsibly for an hour,
when you can try to be responsible all year.

[MGhamma]

Why not both? Seems to me like it's your negative attitude and all those like you that will ultimately diminish the impact of this event.

[SonofLiberty1]

How about YOU being a bit more responsible huh?

Or do you like to pay more every year on your electric bill?

Fact is that we all pay for this...in higher costs...
just so all thes corporations can pay their higher and higher
electric blls....

[hippie chucker]

"Environmentalists Hail Earth Hour As A Big Success, But Then Everyone Turned Back On the Lights, Instantly Making A Thousand Year Leap Forward From Living In The Bronze Age, Saying, "Thank God, We Have Electricity and Running Water Too!"

[TheOside]

Sucess, it was a joke. I didn't see any impact, malls, stores, neigborhoods, office buildings, nowwhere I looked in the suburbs was a light shut off. Maybe because it was so cold here, LOL.

[W i l l]

So when is the WWF going to begin asking cities & towns to turn off nonessential lights & neon eye-candy left running during day light hours?

What, is it not as TV friendly & dramatic to show a daytime shot of a city turning lights off?

[Tagrid]

Why is it that EVERYONE seems to have missed the point of Earth Hour?

This was NOT an effort to conserve power for one hour, for heaven's sake. Get real.

Earth Hour was a SYMBOLIC EVENT - not only to raise awareness - but to show the "powers that be" that there are HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of individuals, and tens of thousands of communities, towns, cities, governments on this Planet Earth that are AWARE and are demanding that changes start NOW!

Awareness is a beginning: School children talking about what can be done to help and planning programs and taking actions that they will continue for the rest of their lives. People coming together to plan projects and take actions. Towns and businesses becoming aware of where they are wasting resources. Everyone figuring out ways they can conserve, recycle, contribute.

Every action taken. large or small, is the opposite of doing nothing.

Earth Hour is a symbol of awareness that changes need to be made for a sustainable future.

[AngieMom57]

Yes, as in de-centralized energy. No pollution, self sustaining, community supported; give everyone an hour to think and the world responds.

[AmbivalentGuy]

My problem:
we have an "Earth Day" that symbolized the same thing.
Too much time, so now we get an hour.

We turn symbols into pablum in this culture.
Obvious, real action is what is needed.
And too many people think symbols are action.

[Tagrid]

No - Your Problem - and many others like you:

You think that ANY action is just symbolic... meaningless. What would YOU consider to be "real action?"

Earth Day is a wonderful time for large events, which also raise awareness. But having one Earth HOUR was for a different purpose. To show the world that there are people all over the whole planet who want change. For one hour of turning off lights the lights were turned ON in minds around the world.

Symbols aren't actions, but they DO raise awareness - even in the minds of negative thinkers like you - it got you talking about it

[myturnnow]

I agree. Four years ago we solarized our 2100 sq ft home and bought ourselves a Prius. Neighbours thought we were just a couple of hippies. They told us we would not be able to get back what we put out in terms of dollar value. We did not do it all for the money, we did it because we think that is the right thing to do. Our part is to show support for conservation of energy.
Yesterday, we were the only home in the block whose lights were turned off for an hour between 8:30 to 9:30 P.M. Perhaps, if we who cares deeply keep doing it, and conserve,others might follow. I believe mimicry is the highest form of flattery. Just a suggestion.

[FWorker]

PR pabulm for the masses. If they were so concerned about the enviorment they
could have turned 1/2 of them off and left like that. Who need the Empire State
Building lit up like a Las Vegas casino. Instead use that money saved to buy
CFL bulbs for low income people.

[Puzlfxr]

CFL's contain mercury very hazardous - bad idea
Think LED's

[Bitsko]

From my vantage point here in lower Manhattan, the Empire State building was practically the only building joining in. The large buildings all around me, including the one new building at the World Trade Center, were lit up like Christmas trees, if with no office workers inside.

[AngieMom57]

Get me a phone number and I'll call till the cows come home, complaining all the way from the other side of the country, shameful building managers that can't coordinate a simple lights off during a Saturday night, hint: timers.

Heathens, idiotic heathens.

[StanlyManly]

Shall we burn them at the stake?

Control your zealotry, lest ye be controlled by it.

[SonofLiberty1]

Right...and you have to wonder what these guys ...CEO's CFO's are thinking when they get their electric bills?

Shoot...space in NYC is costly enough!

[thnk4selfagain]

Glad to hear it was a success. We turned off our lights during Earth hour.

[Samson1]

THis allows companies, governments and people to make a meaningless gesture and then NOT make any actual effort to do anything concrete to alter global warming. If anything, it is harmful.

[retroredux]

I disagree-I've talked to many people who did this last night and it was so easy they plan on doing this at least once a week. Small things do add up to big payoffs

[Puzlfxr]

we could do it 5 times daily
kneeling while facing mecca also

[ItsTooLate]

Listening to the BBC on PRI last night, they did a story on the Earth Hour, which was well done and interesting. It covered the usual topics: the need to limit the emission green house gasses and strive toward more environmental awareness, etc.

Then they did a story on the Formula One race in Australia that kicks off the F1 season.

Hello! What's wrong with this picture?!

[AngieMom57]

HELLO!

Some one who uses the mind intelligently, how refreshing.

[StanlyManly]

Intelligence, it seems, is relative.

Did the trucks hauling the F1 racers also use ethanol? How about the thousands of cars the fans drove to the race? How about all the energy it took to build the F1 racers? How about all the energy it took just to broadcast the race? How about all the energy it took to to ___?

One could write a novel asking such questions about every small detail of any event.

However, it appears to be more novel to just jump on a bandwagon instead. I guess as long as that bandwagon runs on ethanol...

[MGhamma]

Formula one race cars run on ethanal. Nothing wrong with this picture.