Earth Hour is March 28, 2009. See video and find out more here about this new tradition begun in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when residents posed and answered the simple question that many of us may ask, “What can I do about climate change? I am just one person.” Collective efforts of many people created Earth Hour. The concept is as simple as it is powerful. Around the world, people are asked to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:30pm to 9:30pm in their local time zone. The tradition which spread worldwide in 2008 and will be repeated in 2009.

Major cities throughout the world will participate in Earth Hour 2009. Thus far 1,539 cities and towns in 80 countries have committed to participate in this powerful gesture which acknowledges that global warming is an issue that can’t be ignored. This is rapid growth when one considers this is only the 3rd year, with the first year having had participation only from the single, originating city, Sydney, Australia where 2.2 million homes and businesses participated. Notably, in France, 28 cities including Paris will participate. This means that The Eiffel Tower and other iconic Paris landmarks including the Cathedral of Notre Dame and l’Elysée, will be darkened during that hour.

Last year Earth Hour 2008 saw participation of 50 million people in 35 countries. Greg Bourne, chief executive of WWF Australia one of the members of the team that founded Earth Hour, discussed the impetus in a recent interview.

Bourne says the inspiration for the movement came from the global millennium fireworks displays in 2000. “We saw these fireworks start in Sydney, then go to London, New York, San Francisco and we thought `this celebration right around the world, let’s do it again but for an environmental issue; provide a beacon of hope that we can all make a difference’,” he says.

Source: The Switched on will Switch Off (The interview continues…)

Shepard Fairey who designed the ionic Obama logo has designed the official Earth Hour logo. You can see and download the image in a number of formats on Flickr.

Can 1 billion people participate in 2009? Time will tell. It all starts one person at a time. Find out more at the official Earth Hour Web site.

See also a gallery of photos from Earth Hour 2008

YouTube video link (Click if you can’t see the video above.)

Related posts:

• Earth Hour 2009
• Why Are the Lights Out? Find Out Why in The Earth Hour Movie (Video)
• Barbie Goes Green While Staying Slim and Plastic

Earth Hour 2009 (Video)