Earth hour 2011
 The view from any ferry leaving Circular Quay in Sydney Harbour at night is an unforgettable experience the reflection on the water of the harbour of the many lights of the CBD skyline, flanked by the iconic Opera House on the left and the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the right, is awesome.
Australia, like South Africa, has an abundance of fossil fuel such as coal, used in the power stations for generating electricity but resulting in an undesirable carbon footprint. It was accordingly fitting that Earth Hour was conceived by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), also known as World Wildlife Fund and The Sydney Morning Herald, in 2007 when 2.2 million residents of Sydney voluntarily participated. This was achieved turning off all non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.
The first Earth Hour was held on Saturday, 31 March 2007 at 7:30 pm, local time and according to figures from Energy Australia, a local utility, electricity consumption for the first Earth Hour in Sydney was 10.2% lower during the period than what would be expected, given the time, weather conditions and the past four years ‘consumption patterns. The Herald Sun equated this "with taking 28.613 cars of the road for one hour." Critics, labelled this as "a cut so tiny is trivial - equal to taking six cars of the road for a year".
 The organisers of Earth Hour responded that if the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney CBD during the first Earth Hour had been sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking almost 49 000 cars of the road for a year but noted the main goal of Earth Hour was to create awareness around climate change issues and to promote individual action on mass scale to change the planet for the better. This was largely achieved by the word -wide publication of comparative photographs of the scene described in the opening sentence showing the Sydney skyline immediately before and during the initial 2007 Earth Hour.
Earth Hour 2008 was held internationally on March 2008 from 8:00 to 9:00 pm local time with 35 countries and over 400 cities participating. Earth Hour 2009 was held from 8:30 to 9:30 pm, local time, and saw 88 countries and 4 159 cities participating. Reports indicated that the United States topped the Earth Hour participation with an estimated 80,000,000 people, 318 cities and 8 states participating, 126 countries participated in Earth Hour 2010 and was the biggest yet with more than one billion participants. The 2010 event was held from 8:30 to 9:30 pm on 27 March 2010. In Israel, the hour was held on 22 April 2010.
Earth Hour 2011 will take place Saturday night on 26 March 2011 from 8:30 to 9:30 pm local time and in the South African context is garnering support. The residents of Amanzimtoti have formed a Toti Earth Hour Club and is arranging a cycle race and family night walk commencing at 6:00 pm at Lords and Legends, Hutchinson Park. At 8:30 pm there will be a count- down to the big switch-off when a bonfire will be lit at 8:31 pm. The observance of Earth Hour 2011 between 8:30 to 9:30, local time, on Saturday, 26 March 2011 is likely to be observed by many people in villages, towns and cities in South Africa.
Pieter Rautenbach |
