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Credit the public with sense. Earth Hour, hysterically promoted by The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, the ABC, SBS, Sky News and the federal and state governments, resulted in no significant fall in power usage. Check the graphs from our National Electricity Market Management Company, tracking power use between 8pm and 9pm (a period in which demand always plummets):

How did your Earth Hour go? My husband and I enjoyed it so much, we want to try to do it weekly.

LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Sydney Opera House to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge went dark as people switched off lights in their homes and skylines dimmed around the world on Saturday to show concern with global warming. Up to 30 million people were expected to have turned off their lights for 60 minutes by the time "Earth Hour" -- which started in Suva in Fiji and Christchurch in New Zealand -- completed its cycle westward. More than 380 towns and cities and 3,500 businesses in 35 countries signed up for the campaign that is in its second year after...

Please allow me to start off by proudly stating that this latest article was written on an energy-consuming computer under the illumination of a regular, non-environmentally friendly filament light bulb, with the television playing in the background down the double-lit hallway as the washer and dryer go through their water and power chugging cycles in the basement. It’s the start of the latest Internet-inspired, burned-out old hippy-fueled, enviroNazi public relations stunt. It is one minute into Earth Hour, and I just turned on the porch light in celebration.....

All day today Google has been pushing an Earth Hour agenda:On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.Given our company's commitment to environmental awareness and energy efficiency, we strongly support the Earth Hour campaign, and have darkened our homepage today to help spread awareness of what we hope will be a highly successful...

SYDNEY/LONDON (Reuters) - People switched off lights across the world on Saturday, dimming buildings, hotels, restaurants and bars to show concern at global warming. Up to 30 million people were expected to switch off their lights for 60 minutes by the time "Earth Hour" -- which started at 8 p.m. in Suva in Fiji and Christchurch in New Zealand -- completed its cycle westwards.More than 380 towns and cities and 3,500 businesses in 35 countries signed up for the campaign that is only in its second year after it began in 2007 in Sydney alone."Earth Hour shows that everyday people...

Turn on the lights the party's just beginning.

Today, Google has decided to celebrate "Earth Hour" in this way on their main page: Here is some text to explain their actions: Google users in the United States will notice today that we "turned the lights out" on the Google.com homepage as a gesture to raise awareness of a worldwide energy conservation effort called Earth Hour. As to why we don't do this permanently - it saves no energy; modern displays use the same amount of power regardless of what they display. However, you can do something to reduce the energy consumption of your home PC by joining the...

CHICAGO – Governor Rod R. Blagojevich announced today that the State of Illinois will participate in Earth Hour from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. Earth Hour is a public awareness event created by World Wildlife Fund that encourages businesses and residents to join in turning off the lights for one hour on March 29th, 2008, to demonstrate that “individual action on a mass scale can help change our planet for the better.” More than 30 cities on six continents around the world are participating in Earth Hour. Chicago was chosen as the flagship Earth Hour city in the...

King Carl Gustaf XVI has announced that the lights will be turned off for an hour at royal castles on Saturday. The King has announced the royal intention to respect Earth Hour, a campaign by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to highlight energy use and climate change. Ulriksdal Castle and the King's home Drottningholm Castle will join Stockholm Castle in the centre of the city in cutting the lights at 8pm on Saturday. The King is honorary chair of the WWF in Sweden. WWF's Earth Hour campaign is expected to be respected by a large number of households across the...

Tonight's Earth Hour event shows that Australia is a leading party in the fight against climate change, the Environment Minister says. More than twenty cities around the world will today switch off their lights in recognition of climate change, and a pledge to reduce consumption. The worldwide event is only 12-months old, however thousands of buildings, homes and businesses will tonight switch off the lights for one hour. Businesses and Government have also backed the initiative, originally bolstered by residential homes around the country - with over 2000 Government buildings to switch off their lights. Environment Minister Peter Garrett said...

This Saturday, March 29, starting at 8 p.m., 24 "global cities," including Toronto, will be participating in "Earth Hour." The aim is to encourage people to turn their lights off for an hour to promote awareness of man-made global warming. HERE IS MY ITINERARY: 8:00 p.m. -- Turn off lights before leaving house -- naked -- mindful of George Monbiot's warning in Heat: How to Stop the Planet From Burning, that the campaign against global warming is a campaign in favour of austerity. In this light, I have decided to give up clothes, the manufacture of which is a major...

Earth Day. Live Earth. And, now, Earth Hour. The latest bright idea from the country that gave us "Crocodile Dundee" is to have everyone across the globe turn off their lights for an hour at 8 p.m. Saturday. Apparently, a bunch of neo-Luddites in Sydney did this last year and it made them feel good about themselves, so they've decided to give the rest of the world a chance to achieve a similar sense of self-worth. Because, if we are being honest, Earth Hour, like its forefathers, is not about environmental policy--it is about social networking and self-importance.

Freep. Here is where it stands now.

KAWARTHA LAKES - Participation in Earth Hour by students and staff at local schools is “spectacular,” say trustees and board administrators. “We have 100 per cent buy-in to this initiative,” said Trustee Chairperson Rick Johnson. “This says something about the sense of responsibility to the environment shared by our students and teachers.” Trustees launched the initiative for schools to power down today to mark Saturday’s global “Earth Hour” after students at Lindsay Collegiate and Vocational School lobbied the Board for support. As well, students at Parkview Public School took signed petitions urging participation to local politicians. “This is so clearly...

The police force is committed to make its presence felt when Fiji observes Earth Hour from 8-9pm tonight. Corporate Communications Officer Ema Mua says the force wants to ensure that no one takes advantage of the Earth Hour Initiative to break the law. Mua says the National Operations Command Centre has designated senior officers to look into areas especially towns where criminal activities are likely to occur. “A big number will be patrolling on foot and those who will be on motor vehicle. “We also have the National Operations Command Centre on high alert for that one hour and all...

It started in Sydney, Australia a year ago and is now an event of global proportions. Dozens of cities will celebrate Earth Hour on Saturday, turning their attention to energy conservation and global warming. One in 600 people in Canada have signed up to participate. Critics dismiss Earth Hour as just another environmental feel good measure, not unlike the voluntary black out day last August, which had mixed success.

You're not alone, in the dark. While your neighbours get out their rain sticks and hemp shirts, you can amuse yourself 1. Start early. Switch off before the sun sets and soak up the twilight. 2. Go for a walk and see what the neighbours have switched off. 3. Or turn on all the lights in every room and see how long it takes before someone knocks on your door. 4. At which point, you can host an Earth Hour Party: BYO (beeswax!) candle and no plastic cups. 5. One word: Fondue! You get a great meal, no electricity required....

PARTICIPATION in the Earth Hour lights off campaign by individuals will eventually lead to change in the behaviour of businesses and governments, WWF Australia said. The global Earth Hour lights-off project, due at 8pm tonight, aims to focus attention on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. WWF Australia chief Greg Bourne said the actions of individuals could kick off the necessary change to counter global warming. "In the end it is a combination of behavioural change amongst individuals and that (in turn) reinforcing the behavioural change in business, and again the reinforcement up to state, provincial and federal governments...

How's this for silliness...?Earth Hour is an international event that asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour on the evening of March 29th at 8PM local time to promote electricity conservation and thus lower carbon emissions.   It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?   The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.  On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour....

Earth Day. Live Earth. And, now, Earth Hour. The latest bright idea from the country that gave us "Crocodile Dundee" is to have everyone across the globe turn off their lights for an hour at 8 p.m. Saturday. Apparently, a bunch of neo-Luddites in Sydney did this last year and it made them feel good about themselves, so they've decided to give the rest of the world a chance to achieve a similar sense of self-worth. Because, if we are being honest, Earth Hour, like its forefathers, is not about environmental policy--it is about social networking and self-importance. Earth Hour...