Earth Hour is a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet, and is organised by WWF.
It is an event that aims to create awareness of people taking responsibility towards a sustainable future by turning the lights off. Earth Hour is not to be confused with Earth Day.
Engaging a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues, Earth Hour was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007.
Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide, and the one-hour event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement.
Actor Arjun Kapoor has been announced as the national brand ambassador of the environmental campaign ' Earth Hour 2014
What do people do?
People will turn off all non-essential lights to raise awareness about environmental challenges at the specified time.
On Saturday March 29th at 8:30pm, millions of people across the world are switching off lights for one hour - to celebrate their commitment to the planet.
Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas have stood in darkness during previous Earth Hours.
Some people enjoy Earth Hour with a candle-lit dinner or a candle-lit bath, while others host large events or parties, either in darkness or with candles, to celebrate Earth Hour.
Businesses and government organizations, as well as community and political leaders also take part in Earth Hour. It's about giving people a voice on the planet�s future and working together to create a sustainable low carbon future for planet earth.
Earth Hour only asks people to turn off the non-essential lights for one hour - not lights that affect public safety. Earth Hour is also a celebration of the planet so it�s important to enjoy the moment in a safe environment
For the very first time, Moscow�s Kremlin and whole Red Square complex, including St. Basil�s Cathedral, Historical Museum and the famous GUM-mall switch off for Earth Hour.
Participating landmarks include:
The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Tokyo Tower, Taipei 101, The Petronas Towers, Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest), Marina Bay Sands Singapore, Gateway of India, The Burj Khalifa, The Church of the Nativity (Birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem), Table Mountain, Dubrovnik City Walls, Eiffel Tower, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, The Acropolis, Tower of Pisa, The Spanish Steps, Brandenburg Gate, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, The UK Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Christ the Redeemer Statue, CN Tower, Las Vegas Strip, Times Square, The Empire State Building, Niagara Falls and more.
Vancouver, Canada was crowned as the first ever Global Earth Hour Capital. The city was recognised for its ambition to be a global leader on climate-smart urban development with green targets.
For example, by 2020, Vancouver aims for all new buildings to be carbon neutral in their operations; citizens to make over 50% of trips by foot, bicycle or public transport; and the number of green jobs to have doubled.
Whose idea was Earth Hour:
Earth Hour came from a think tank initiated by Earth Hour CEO and Co-Founder, Andy Ridley, resulting in the formation of a partnership between WWF Australia, Leo Burnett and Fairfax Media to address the climate change issue.
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 climate change and start a dialogue about what we as individuals can do to help address the greatest problem facing our planet today.
Leo Burnett partnered with WWF to promote the idea and help make the campaign a reality in Sydney, a campaign which has now gone beyond climate change to symbolise the growing global pursuit of a better, healthier world.
Commitment to Earth Hour mean:
By registering for Earth Hour 2014, individuals, communities and businesses are making a commitment to turn their lights off for an hour at 8.30PM on Saturday 29 March in acknowledgement of an act they will undertake for the benefit of the planet.
We hope that these individuals, communities and businesses will take action beyond the hour through Earth Hour Blue
Earth Hour�s relationship with WWF:
Earth Hour is an initiative of WWF. In 2007, WWF initiated Earth Hour a way of engaging a broad section of society in the environmental issues challenging citizens across the world. WWF embraced the idea of an open sourced campaign that would allow communities and organisations to become part of a global movement to protect out planet.
Why is Spider-Man Earth Hour�s ambassador in 2014?
Earth Hour and �The Amazing Spider-Man 2� (TASM2), distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment, are encouraging people across the world to become superheroes for the planet with a simple call to action: �Use Your Power at earthhour.org�.
The partnership will allow us to reach an even broader section of society to spread the Earth Hour message, which is an approach that has allowed the movement to grow to the position it is in today.
Key to the partnership is that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the most eco-friendly blockbuster produced by Sony Pictures. Sony Pictures will offset 4,000 tonnes of carbon through WWF-China�s Gold Standard Verified �Energy Efficient Stoves To Protect The Giant Panda� project; and these carbon offsets have rendered the entire physical production of the film, as well as well as the appearance and activities of the film�s cast, producers and director for Earth Hour events, completely carbon-neutral.
Spider-Man is Earth Hour�s first superhero ambassador, epitomizing the power of the individual and inspiring his fans to become superheroes for the planet. We want every fan of Spider-Man to walk away knowing they can do something to protect the planet. Earth Hour is a movement for people illustrate their support, and Earth Hour Blue is the place they can get involved.
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