Wherever you live on the planet - thank you for voting Earth on March 28

Belinda Kersten

On March 28 hundreds of millions of people in over 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries voted Earth.

Earth Hour 2009 is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to take responsibility and to get involved in working towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to The Americas will stand in darkness.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when more than 2.2 million families and businesses turned off their lights for Earth Hour on Saturday 31 March 2007.

Just one year later, Earth Hour reached 370 cities and towns in more than 35 countries across 18 timezones, and the campaign shifted from a Sydney event to a global sustainability movement.

An estimated 50 to 100 million people around the world switched off their lights for Earth Hour in 2008, and global landmarks including the Rome’s Coliseum, the Coke billboard in Times Square in New York and Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai darkened for one hour.

In 2009, Earth Hour aimed to reach 1 billion people around the world in more than 1000 cities involving business, government and the community in the world’s largest global action on climate action on 28 March 2009.

Earth Hour Africa 2009

Africa, where climate change impacts particularly on water supplies and arable land are already severe, joined in Earth Hour with South African Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, describing Earth Hour as a global vote for action on climate change and potentially “one of the greatest social movements the world has ever witnessed.”

“Climate change is the greatest human-induced crisis facing the world today,” said the Nobel Prize winner. “It is totally indiscriminate of race, culture and religion. It affects every human being on the planet.”

South Africa saved about 400 megawatts during Earth Hour, Eskom said on Sunday.

This meant South Africans switched off a total of 4.7 million 60 watt lightbulbs between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, as part of a global initiative for action against climate change, said spokesman Fani Zulu. "This also means one unit of power at each of our small power stations was saved," he said.

In Melville, Johannesburg a few restaurants opted for candlelight. The Johannesburg skyline looked decidedly dimmer, although the Vodacom advert on top of the Ponte tower still flashed merrily.

At music venue and restaurant the Blues Room in Sandton, patrons were asked to light the candles which had been put on all the tables, before the lights were turned off. the Soweto Gospel Choir also celebrated Earth Hour in Nelson Mandela Square as the lights went off in twelve notable buildings, from the Jabulani Civic to the Roodepoort Civic Centre.

Cape Town’s main celebration was at one of South Africa’s most visited tourist attractions, the V&A Waterfront, which hosted A Concert in the Dark.
Louis Heyneman, CEO, Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, said: “It is an honour for the CPO to make its contribution to a global initiative like Earth Hour, and to present the power of music in a different light.” The orchestra played a number of light classics, including Von Suppe’s Light Cavalry Overture, Johan Strauss II’s Blue Danube Waltz, and Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Waltz No. 5.

For further reading on how the Global Earth Hour Campaign fared, click on one of the following sites:

http://www.earthhour.org/home/za:en
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2235111402&ref=mf
http://www.youtube.com/earthhour2009