Earth Hour stimulates the global community

For once, rather than elections being held in each country, every country can participate in a global election to VOTE EARTH in Earth Hour 2009.

Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia on March 31, 2007. Australians turned off their lights for one hour, making a bold statement to the rest of the world against global warming, where over 58% of adults participated in the first ever Earth Hour, for a total of 2.2 million participants. Even famous landmarks that were illuminated had their lights turned off. This event brought together families, businesses, local councils, and even Hollywood celebrities. This event caught the attention of the rest of the world. In 2008, Earth Hour was repeated; however, not just by Sydney, Austrailia, but rather globally. Over 35 countries and 370 cities participated in Earth Hour 2008, including USA, Canada, Fiji, Israel, Antarctica, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, and the Philippines, with an estimated 50 million individuals taking part in the event.

Earth Hour has moved the community of the Earth together. Some reasons are because when people hear about this, they realise it is something very big – it’s global. And people enjoy feeling like they are part of something big, and that they are a positive contributing member of society. So, when people in other countries heard about Austrailia’s 2007 Earth Hour, they wanted to be included, and decided that it was an event they could take part in to. The event is not exclusive, anybody who has access to electricity can turn it off for an hour. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world you can still participate. Even if you don’t have a light switch to turn off, you are still being a participant by not using electricity or lights. This is a global event that is bringing people together on a global scale, in order to make a statement about global warming. It is sustainable in every way imaginable – decreasing energy consumption is a sustainable behaviour. Also, by participating, you are more aware of your energy usage. You may realise that you don’t need all the lights on, and you become more aware of your energy consumption behaviour. You think to yourself, "If I can go an hour without lights then, I should try to use the minimal amount of energy that I need all the time". Why not fight against global climate change all the time?

Now, the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) is advertising for people to get involved in Earth Hour 2009. One catch phrase that is used as part of the advertising campaign "It’s not about what country you are from, it’s about what planet you’re from", and that it is an election between Earth and global warming. Earth Hour 2009 has a goal of 1 billion votes for the Earth, where 1 billion people participate in Earth Hour. Earth Hour 2009 has already received votes from 80 countries and a total of 931 cities that will be turning off their lights during Earth Hour.

The Earth Hour web-site also has suggested ways to show your support and to spread the word about the event. Funny enough, one of the ways suggested in spreading the word is to write a blog post about it. Well, here I am, writing a blog post about it! So, if you have read this post, I strongly encourage you to join the others who have already voted for the Earth.

There have been many engagement techniques used in this campaign, such as user friendly web sites that give lots of information, ways to support the event, and ways to get others involved. The media has become involved in this event, making the global community aware. A slogan on the web page says "Vote Earth, because every vote counts", which lets people know that their participation is encouraged and helpful. There is a section that informs people of the background, how to register, and even lists reasons why to vote for the Earth. It is very informative and user friendly.

I saw the video online, and then I went to the web-site. I learned more about Earth Hour, and I became a participant. On March 28, 2009 from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM, I will not be using any lights. Instead, I will either take a nap, or do my activities by candlelight. I will vote for the Earth, and hope that global warming will perish.

If you would like to take a look at the web site, the URL is http://www.earthhour.org/ or http://www.voteearth2009.org/home/

To take a look at some of the U-tube videos about Earth Hour, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CRs-7lRlPo&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd1BsNvEXqo&feature=channel

After reading this blog post, I hope you are more inclined and informed about Earth Hour. Please join me and all the others who have decided to give their vote to the Earth by registering and participating in Earth Hour 2009!