Australia powers down for Earth Hour

FROM the nation's red heart to the tip of Tassie, Australians will flick a small switch on Saturday to make a big statement.

"Earth Hour is an opportunity for people around the world to speak in one voice on the issue of climate change," said Greg Bourne, CEO of Australia's World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Australia will be among the first places in the world to turn the power down, with some of the nation's biggest companies and organisations committed to turning off their lights for 60 minutes from 8.30pm on Saturday.

Ferries will blast their horns in Sydney - where the first ever Earth Hour was staged by WWF in 2007 - to signal the start of the event, which will see the lights go out at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower, Harbour Bridge and Luna Park.

In Melbourne, a free movie screening and picnic will be held in Federation Square, with flyers urging people to bring "a rug, food and good company" as they watch the city skyline plunge into darkness.Among those doing their bit for the environment are Melbourne's Luna Park, Rialto Tower, Arts Centre and Crown Casino.

Hundreds of councils nationwide have also signed up to the event from Alice Springs, in Australia's centre, to Tasmania's town of Cottesloe.

"This year's Earth Hour promises to be even bigger than last year," said WWF-Australia's national project manager for Earth Hour, Jennifer Croes.

"Already, 92 countries have signed up for Earth Hour 2010 - up from 88 countries in 2009 when an estimated one billion people across 4000 cities flicked off their lights."

In Queensland, icons like the Story Bridge, City Hall, Kangaroo Point cliffs and the XXXX Man above the Milton brewery have all committed to flicking off their lights.

Adelaide's Town Hall and Rundle Mall Lantern and the National Library and Australian War Memorial in Canberra are also on the list of those participating in Earth Hour along with international sites such as New York's Empire State Building, the lights of Las Vegas and world-famous landmarks including the Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower and Beijing's Forbidden City.

The campaign went global in 2008 and this year, more than 1200 of the world's best-known landmarks will kill their lights in what organisers describe as a "24-hour wave of hope and action".

My critique --
every country is doing their best to concern about the climate change nowadays. This year, Australia will be the first to turn off the switch. We can see that a lot countries have been taking part in this meaningful events. However, it is not just that we turn off the lights for this 24 hours, we should also practise the habits of switching off them when they are not in use in our daily life to make a small difference. Evry one effort can accumulate and become significant in the end!