Switch Off Your Lights for Earth Hour | Video

Photo courtesy EarthHour.org

March 31, 2012 at 8:30pm wherever you live. Come as you are!

More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also ushered in a new era with members going “Beyond the Hour” to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.

Help spread the word.

• Click on any (or all!) of the share buttons at the end of  this post.
• Create or accept an “I Will If  Your Will” challenge to showcase how everyone has the power to change the world we live in.
• Host an Earth Hour party! If you’re afraid of the dark, light up some beeswax candles.

Photo courtesy EarthHour.org

How did Earth Hour get started?

In 2007, WWF-Australia inspired Sydney-siders to show their support for climate change action in the first ever Earth Hour event. It showed that everyone, from children to CEOs and politicians, has the power to change the world they live in. In Sydney, Australia, 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights out for one hour to take a stand against climate change.

In 2008, the plan was to take Earth Hour to the rest of Australia. But then the City of Toronto, Canada, signed up and it wasn’t long before 35 countries and almost 400 cities and towns were part of the event. It said something compelling to the world: that the climate challenges facing our planet are so significant that change needs to be global.

With the invitation to ‘switch off’ extended to everyone, Earth Hour quickly became an annual global event. It’s scheduled on the last Saturday of every March – closely coinciding with the equinox to ensure most cities are in darkness as it rolled out around the Earth.

In 2011, Earth Hour saw hundreds of millions of people across 135 countries switch off for an hour. But it also marked the start of something new – going “Beyond the Hour” to commit to lasting action on climate change. And with the power of social networks behind the Earth Hour message, the hope is to attract even more participation so a truly global community committed to creating a more sustainable planet can be built.

Click here to join the Earth Hour community.