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Belfast’s city lights go out for Earth Hour 2009
Monday, 2 March 2009
The Victoria Square dome, Belfast Wheel, Queen’s University and Belfast City Hall will be plunged into darkness in one month’s time as part of the biggest ever mass global action on climate change.
Skylines across the globe will darken as millions of people across the planet switch off their lights for one hour, sending a signal to global leaders that they must take urgent action to tackle climate change.
Between 8.30pm and 9.30pm local time on Saturday, March 28, people, businesses, cities and communities around the world will take part in WWF's Earth Hour.
The international green group aims to inspire one billion people in more than 1,000 cities to sign up and switch off their lights.
To date, nearly 700 cities in more than 75 countries have signed up for Earth Hour, including London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast in the UK and hundreds of others around the world, from Cape Town, Dubai, Hong Kong and Istanbul to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Moscow, Singapore, Sydney and Toronto.
Geoff Nuttall, head of WWF Northern Ireland, said: “WWF's Earth Hour is an inspiring |opportunity for people all around the world to do something positive to tackle climate change.
“By signing up to switch their lights off, millions of people will be showing world leaders that they care about curbing the worst |impacts of climate change while we still can.”
Global icons taking part include the Eiffel Tower, the Shanghai Hong Kong New World Tower, Sydney's Opera House and Table Mountain in Cape Town.
Cate Blanchett, Boris Johnson and economist Lord Nicholas Stern are all switching off for Earth Hour and the world scouting movement and the Women's Institute are rallying their members to back the event.
Belfast Lord Mayor Tom Hartley said: “Belfast City Council is |delighted to support Earth Hour 2009. The Council is committed to creating a greener, cleaner city where good environmental practice is at the core of all policy and practice.
“There are many positive steps that the council, local citizens and businesses can take to reduce the city's carbon footprint and to protect our valuable resources for |future generations.
Sign up to WWF’s Earth Hour by visiting wwf.org.uk/niearthhour or texting Earth to 84880
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we think this is a great idea , cant wait to see our lovely city in darkness
Posted by karen & elaine | 28.03.09, 10:59 GMT
Great concept to get their attention! Will all the locals turn their lights back on at the same time? Are these saviors of planet Earth aware that the instant AC power is generated, it must be consumed in order to maintain the power grid stability? Will the power grid go down due to the instant demand in power? Will the black out cause little children to fear the "boggy man" or miss their favoriate TV programs like "Dancing With The Stars"? If you must save the plant, will killing yourself and millions of other exhaling humans reduce the CO2 production?
Posted by Accordion Man | 26.03.09, 20:43 GMT
What wonderful news! People around the globe helping to halt climate change, the most urgent crisis facing our earth today. However, the most effective solution is not in turning off lights, it is in changing our diet. Dr. Pachauri, head of the Nobel Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change advises us that changing our diet is the simplest and most effective way to halt global warming. The UN confirms this, saying the meat consumption contributes more to global warming than all forms of transportation put togeter. Please, save our planet! Be VEG!!
Posted by Grace | 03.03.09, 18:28 GMT
I agree with Richard, crime will soar and the 'hoodies' will run riot with the cover of darkness for an hour
Posted by Jenna | 02.03.09, 18:13 GMT
yeah...never mind the protest...
this will be a one off chance for the City dwellers to see what their
night sky actually looks like...
let's hope you get a clear night...
Posted by SP | 02.03.09, 16:04 GMT
what a ridiculous idea! so they go off for an hour and then what? they go back on again, that's watt watt!!
Posted by Millar | 02.03.09, 12:55 GMT
One hour is a pretty token gesture. Watch the crime rate soar during this time....
Posted by Richard | 02.03.09, 09:47 GMT
Silly, gimmicky nonsense. There is nothing us Earthlings can do to change the entirely cyclical nature of the climate. We could turn everything off for a full year or more and it would make no difference whatsover.
A much more pressing issue is the following - what further plans do the greenies have in store to control us, the gullible sheep? How about the surrender of all privacy, all freedom of thought and all movement under the threat of a false, unavoidable climate catastrophe.
Call me paranoid, call me a conspiracy theorist, I really don't care.
The greenies are people who claim to be concerned for our wellbeing but I don't see them that way at all. Their cause is
entirely nefarious.
Rather, I see an encroaching control and surveillance society driven by a fanatical, religionistic bunch of liars.
Posted by PMcC | 02.03.09, 09:14 GMT
Let's have our Minister for the Environment, Sammy Wilson, push a button to turn off the lights in Belfast, and show his support for environmental issues
Posted by Joanne | 02.03.09, 09:08 GMT