Pledge with Starwood Hotels to turn off your lights for one hour on Saturday March 26 from 8:30 to 9:30pm local time and receive 100 points. The points will post by April 15, 2011.
Stop reading this post now if all you care about is getting 100 Starpoints from Starwood Preferred Guest.
The rest of this post will expose you to the environmental social action climate change agenda behind earthhour.org.
Earth Hour by WWF
Earth Hour is organized by WWF. With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries, it’s one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.
The Park Hyatt Washington D.C. where I stayed last month is located across the street from the World Wildlife Fund U.S. headquarters. I snapped this photo of the WWF logo outside the building.
Here are descriptions from earthhour.org websites describing the origin and aims of Earth Hour.
About Earth Hour
Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour. (link)
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Global icons join in monumental action for the planetÂ
Diverse iconic landmarks join hundreds of millions of people across the planet to switch off for Earth Hour 2011 including: Gateway of India, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, Taiwan’s 101 Financial Building, and UNESCO World Heritage sites Denmark’s Kronborg Castle and the Alhambra in Spain, Pakistan’s National Mausoleum, Berlin’s Brandenberg Gate, Tokyo Tower and the Obelisk in Argentina, all standing in darkness for one hour, representative of the world’s largest voluntary action for the planet.
At 8.30pm local time on Saturday 26 March, 2011, these landmarks will join with people from community, business and government, all over the world to turn off their lights for Earth Hour, transcending barriers of race, religion, culture, society, generation and geography in a global celebration of their commitment to protect the one thing that unites us all – the planet.
From Boudhanath Stupa in Nepal, to Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates, Santa Maria del Mar Basilica in Spain, Ngoc Son Temple in Vietnam, Budapest Great Synagogue and the Helsinki Cathedral in Finland. From natural wonders Table Mountain in South Africa and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, to China World Trade Centre Tower 3 (the tallest building in Beijing).
From the Taj Hotels in Mumbai and Delhi, London’s The Savoy and Royal Albert Hall, to the Presidential Palace in Peru, Thailand’s Royal Palace, the Presidential Palace in Honduras and the Royal Castle in Sweden, to the largest single housing estate in Nigeria, the Gwarimpa Housing Estate.
“These landmarks act as powerful symbols of what we can achieve when we unite for a common purpose; a visually spectacular reminder of what can be done when individuals, organisations and governments act together,†said Andy Ridley, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Earth Hour.
Earth Hour links:Â
EarthHour Take Action for ideas you can implement in your local region.
Earth Hour Make a Lantern and Children’s activities
Earth Hour News Feed (blogspot)
