Can Earth Hour Galvanize the global warming fight?

Every successful social movement has its defining images. Think of the civil rights movement, and the photos of protesters being attacked by police dogs and pummeled by high-pressure fire hoses. Or the Vietnam anti-war movement, and the video of body bags being beamed back to America's living rooms. Even environmentalism has its iconic images, like Cleveland's heavily polluted Cuyahoga River catching fire in the 1960s, smog wreathing Los Angeles's skyline during the next decade and even the stark hole in the ozone over Antarctica. To help galvanize public support — especially around a complex issue — the right picture really can be worth a thousand words.

When it comes to climate change, however, that picture hasn't yet been found. Hurricane Katrina's destruction, drowning polar bears, spreading deserts — these images are powerful in their own right, but they're not the sorts of pictures that can drive a movement. Precisely because global warming is so, well, global, potentially touching just about every corner of the world and every aspect of our lives, encapsulating it in a single image has proven elusive. You can't connect climate change to a natural disaster as simply as you can connect a napalm bomb, a running child and the war in Vietnam. That's made building and sustaining a movement against global warming so challenging. We can't see it yet, not quite — and we can't see its victims. But by the time we can, it will be too late.

That hasn't stopped environmental groups from trying, however. On Saturday at 8:30 pm local time — beginning on Chatham Island in New Zealand, one of the first places on Earth that the dawn strikes — towns and cities in over 80 countries across the world will shut off their lights for 60 minutes, to draw attention to climate change. The National Stadium in Beijing, the Great Pyramids in Egypt, the Empire State Building in New York and even the Strip in Las Vegas — all will go dark for an hour to raise awareness of climate change and show that there is a worldwide constituency out there eager for action. "This is the only event regarding climate change that is truly global," says Carter Roberts, the president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the U.S., which is coordinating the event. "Climate change is the most global of problems, and the global community needs to come together to solve it." (Read "Earth Hour '08: Did It Matter?"

This is the second year in a row that WWF has helped run a worldwide Earth Hour — the event began two years ago just in Australia) -- and participation has grown tremendously, from 400 cities in 2008 to some 4,000 this year. The image, at least, will be spectacular — monuments and skyscrapers switching off, a ring of darkness passing across the face of the planet. Though WWF is loosely overseeing Earth Hour, the protest — for lack of a better term — is a product of the age of social media, organized at the grassroots, with word spreading via Twitter and Facebook. "This is an open source thing," says WWF spokesperson Leslie Aun. "We lit the spark, but everyone is owning this."

Earth Hour itself is easy to make fun of — skeptics will say that turning out the lights won't make but a light ding in our carbon emissions, and critics will claim it proves that environmentalists really do want to send us straight to the dark ages. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, is holding a counter-protest during the same time period called Celebrate Human Achievement Hour, which will "salute the people who keep the lights on and produce the energy that helps make human achievement possible." (So if you've ever wanted to throw a party for your local coal plant, this will be your chance.) But Earth Hour is a symbolic act, and as WWF's Roberts points out, "history is littered with symbolic acts that became tipping points."(Read "Solar Power: Eco-Friendly or Environmental Blight?")

Is Earth Hour going to become such a tipping point, or the movement's defining image? It's possible, but as important as pictures are, we'll need more. When President George W. Bush was in charge, knocking away climate change action like an NHL goalie, symbolism mattered because it was all we had. Now there's a new President who has made very green promises, and who needs to be kept to them, even in the teeth of the worst economic crisis most of us have ever known. The new battle will be fought in the nitty gritty of policy, and the protests that matter will be political ones.

Global warming may never get its perfect picture — Earth Hour, a globe gone dark, may be the closest thing we'll have. That's all right — at a time when a recent Gallup poll reports that a record-high 41% of Americans think global warming is exaggerated, green groups need to do everything they can to keep this issue on the front burner, here and in the rest of the world. "The take home message from Earth Hour should be that we are not alone," says Roberts. "I want people to go to the website, but after, I want them to send a letter to their congressman." So think of it this way; turning off your lights Saturday night is all well and good — but remember that the work really starts when you turn them back on.

(Via Time.com)

In world's first global election, vote for Earth

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming. For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.

On March 28 you can VOTE EARTH by switching off your lights for one hour.
Or you can vote global warming by leaving your lights on.

India to observe 'Earth Hour' on March 28

India will join rest of the world by observing 'Earth Hour' to save energy as well as environment on March 28.

The people will be observing the Day by switching off all the lights and electrical appliances for an hour from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm.

Began with one hour switching off lights at Sydney in Australia two years back, the 'Earth Hour' was observed in 35 countries last year in an attempt to reduce the carbon footprint, the World Wide Fund for Nature (India) Education officer Dr Goldin Quadros said.

This year India, especially Delhi and Mumbai will participate, he said adding that WWF was getting support from the government as well as the corporate houses.

Lights would be switched off or dimmed at 11 PVR cinemas in Delhi and Mumbai and corporate offices.

As per WWF this year, 50 lakh citizens of 377 cities from 74 nations are participating in this initiative.

Kick-starting the 'Earth Hour'campaign at the at green technology festival of the Chemical Engineering department at IIT `Azeotropy' , Mumbai Mayor Dr Shubha Raul said it was important to cut down carbon level and the municipality will be keen to help in the endeavour.

She has called for a meeting of all the corporators to brief them about the `Earth hour'on Monday and WWF will have a video show for them.

(via Economic Times)