The influence of Earth Hour.

"Earth Hour" is an initiative put forward by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) to cope with global climate change. It is hoped that individuals, communities, enterprises and governments will turn off their lights for one hour at 20:30-2 1:30 on the last Saturday of March every year to show their support for climate change action. Climate change caused by excessive carbon dioxide emissions has greatly threatened human survival on the earth. Only by changing the attitude of people around the world towards carbon dioxide emissions can we alleviate the impact of this threat on us.

Goal vision

The goal of Earth Hour in 2009 is to involve individuals, families and enterprises as much as possible, and turn off the lights and other electrical appliances for one hour.

"Earth Hour" aims to let people around the world know about the threat posed by climate change, and make them realize how a small action by individuals and enterprises will have a profound impact on their living environment-a small change may have a huge impact.

At the same time, the "Earth Hour" activity also provided a report on global environmental change for the leaders who participated in the United Nations climate change negotiations held in Copenhagen in February 2009, hoping that the leaders would reach a new global climate change agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

Development history

The "Earth Hour" event was first held in Sydney, Australia at 8 pm on March 3, 2007/KLOC-0. That night, more than 2.2 million families and businesses in Sydney turned off their lights and appliances for an hour. According to statistics afterwards, the electricity saved by turning off the lights for one hour is enough for 200,000 TVs to run 1 hour and 50,000 cars to run 1 hour. More participating citizens reported that the stars they could see that night were several times more than usual.

Subsequently, from this limited scale, "Earth Hour" swept the world at an alarming rate. Only one year later, the "Earth Hour" has been recognized as one of the biggest global actions to deal with climate change, and has become a global and sustainable activity. On March 29, 2008, as many as 50 million people from 35 countries participated in it, which proved that individual actions together can really change the world. 2009 Earth Hour China Launching Ceremony

In 2009, "Earth Hour" came to China! ! Baoding, known as "China Electric Valley", is the first city in Chinese mainland to officially announce its participation in this activity. In addition, Chinese mainland cities officially confirmed by WWF to participate in the event include Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Nanjing, Shunde, Hangzhou, Changsha, Changchun, Hong Kong and Macau. At 20:30-2 1:30 pm on March 28th, 2009, the lights in the above cities were turned off for one hour. More than 3,000 cities in more than 80 countries and regions around the world have created this beautiful "dark moment" and contributed to the future of the earth.

To this end, the British National Football Museum, the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest hotel, the Canadian National Television Tower, the Moscow Federal Building and the official residence of Italian President and China president in Rome, all turned off their lights for one hour. The landmark building of Victoria Pier in Hong Kong also turned off its lights for one hour to express its determination to deal with climate change.

In China, the number of participating cities and buildings is also increasing. As a "low-carbon city pilot project", the Baoding Municipal Government Building and the first solar photovoltaic building in China-Diangu Jinjiang International Hotel, Hong Kong Victoria Harbour, Dalian Xinghai Plaza, Nanjing Xuanwu Lake, Xinjiekou and Shanghai Oriental Pearl all turned off their lights at 8: 30 pm on March 28th. Beijing's new landmarks, the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube and the Linglong Tower, have also joined in. As Yintai Center, the tallest building on Chang 'an Avenue, the landscape lights marked "Lantern" will also be closed. It has become a symbol of these cities' participation and support in mitigating global warming. In addition, individuals, communities and enterprises in many cities are actively organizing and promoting this activity with their own strength.

Na Hua, deputy country director of the United Nations Development Programme, said: "The impact of climate change on human beings knows no boundaries. Whether we are rich or poor, each of us is equally vulnerable to climate change. In the fight against climate change, cooperation among governments, individuals and social institutions is very important. Each of us is a villager in the global village. As long as we turn off the lights for an hour, we can make practical contributions to reducing carbon emissions and changing the future of the planet. "

Andy Reid, global executive director of Earth Hour, said: "Recent events show that the whole world can unite in times of crisis, and the global economic crisis is a good example. 2009 is a year that will determine the future of the earth. Major countries in the world will make plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions on a large scale this year. This also provides a good opportunity to invest in a new model of low-carbon new economy. We must work together to realize these changes. Our concerted action can change history and ensure the future of the earth. " Li Bingbing, Ambassador of China District, Earth Hour.

After the "Earth Hour" activity was launched in China at the end of last year, it has also made positive progress, with hundreds of enterprises including Coca-Cola and Canon joining the activity. IKEA, Wal-Mart and New World China Real Estate in Beijing and Shanghai also held activities in different ways. China Gaode also provided free advertising space for bus bodies and subway light boxes in Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin to support the "Earth Hour" campaign.

In addition, a series of public service advertisements have appeared, in which Li Bingbing, Ambassador of Earth Hour China District, participated. On the evening of March 28th, Li Bingbing joined the activity of "Lights out for an hour". Li Bingbing said: "The earth is our common home, and everyone has the responsibility to save energy. I hope that we can use our own strength to call on more people to participate in this meaningful activity and express our determination to jointly address climate change. "

Baoding joins

"China Electric Valley" joined "Earth Hour"—

On February 23rd, 2009, more than one month before the global lights-out activity of "Earth Hour", Baoding City, Hebei Province, known as "China Power Valley", officially announced its participation in this activity. On March 28th, 2009, the lights were turned off for one hour at 8: 30 pm, making it the first city in China to officially announce its participation in the event.

Ou Damon, chief representative of the World Wide Fund for Nature (China), said: "We are very happy to see Baoding join the Earth Hour. The global problem of climate change needs everyone's concerted action and efforts. Baoding has made remarkable achievements in low-carbon development, leading the global cities. We also hope that more China cities can join the lights-out activities and join the global action of low-carbon development. "

Baoding, as one of the first pilot cities of WWF's "China Low-carbon City Development Project" (the other is Shanghai), has made some achievements in the construction of low-carbon cities in the past year. At present, Baoding is building "China Electric Valley" according to its own industrial structure characteristics, vigorously developing a low-carbon economy with new energy and new energy equipment manufacturing as the main body, advocating a low-carbon lifestyle, and building a low-carbon city and ecological civilization. Baoding "Earth Hour" Launching Ceremony

On the evening of March 28th, 2009, Baoding Municipal Government held the launching ceremony of "Earth Hour" in Diangu Jinjiang International Hotel, the first solar photovoltaic building in China, High-tech Zone. Relevant leaders of Baoding Municipal Government and senior officials of World Wide Fund for Nature (wwf) attended the event and delivered speeches. At the same time, Olympic champion Pang Wei attended the ceremony as the spokesperson of Baoding "Earth Hour".

Baoding promises to fully participate in the "Earth Hour" activities. Universities, primary and secondary schools, street communities, enterprises and government agencies in Baoding participated in the lights-out activities in different forms, and at the same time launched a series of publicity and advocacy activities on energy conservation and emission reduction, with the help of which Baoding people's awareness of energy conservation was enhanced and the construction of a "low-carbon city" was promoted.

The Development and Reform Commission of Baoding revealed that participating in the "Earth Hour" activity is an important measure in the process of building a low-carbon city in Baoding, hoping to raise people's concern about climate change through "turning off the lights for one hour", so that the concepts of energy conservation, environmental protection, building a low-carbon city and cherishing natural resources can be deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Baoding Development and Reform Commission also called on Baoding citizens to turn off the lights for one hour (except for lighting, street lamps and traffic lights that do not affect public safety) and disconnect the power of all household appliances, such as mobile phone chargers, televisions, microwave ovens, MP3 players, computer monitors and printers. On the evening of March 28th, the landscape lights around Baoding Municipal Government Building were also turned off for one hour. The main officials of the municipal government and citizens participated in and witnessed this global action. Before and after lights out of Jinjiang International Hotel in Diangu.

The "Earth Hour" activity aroused the concern and response of Bulgarian college students. The "College Students' Environmental Alliance", which has been prepared for a long time by students from eight universities in Bulgaria, including Hebei University, North China Electric Power University and Hebei Agricultural University, will be formally established on the 28th. In the afternoon, they launched the alliance establishment ceremony in Baoding Military Academy Square. In addition, they also carry out various publicity activities, such as introducing "Earth Hour" activities and common sense related to global climate change to the public through leaflets, exhibition boards, banners and proposals. Many colleges and universities in the League have warmed up Earth Hour in their respective campuses through radio and blackboard newspapers. A number of college associations said that they would turn off the lights for one hour in the dormitory on the evening of the 28th, contributing to "building a green Baoding".

Yu Qun, Mayor of Baoding, said, "As a city with a population of more than 10,000/China1KLOC-0, Baoding is striving to build a low-carbon city. Taking part in the global environmental protection activity "Earth Hour", turning off the lights is only a small action, but it has great symbolic significance. In the future, Baoding will work with other cities in the world committed to low-carbon sustainable development to advocate the harmonious development between man and nature and take active actions. "

Set off an upsurge

Earth Hour is a global initiative. This activity began in Sydney, Australia in 2007. At that time, about 2 million families and businesses voluntarily turned off their lights for an hour. A year later, with the promotion of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), "Earth Hour" has become a global sustainable activity. In 2009, more than 3,000 cities from more than 80 countries and regions participated in this activity.

The diesel generator on the chatham islands on the east coast of New Zealand was turned off at 20: 30 on March 28th, marking the beginning of the most spectacular collective activity "Earth Hour 2009" in the world. Sydney before and after lights out.

As the head gun of this global activity, Dairne Poole, the head of WWF New Zealand's "Earth Hour", believes that her country's move plays an indispensable role in this activity, which affects 65.438+billion people, more than 6.5438+million cities and spans 25 time zones.

The "Lights-out Relay" in thousands of cities around the world starts from New Zealand, passes through Sydney, and then goes to Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Baoding, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Mumbai and New Delhi in Asia.

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome and the Coca-Cola billboard in Times Square, the National Football Museum in Britain, the Burj Dubai, the Canadian National Television Tower in Toronto, the Federal Building in Moscow and the official residence of Italian President giorgio napolitano in Rome all turned off their lights within 60 minutes.

Starting from Asia, "Earth Hour" provides a platform for people in 25 time zones around the world to express environmental protection and cope with climate change. Whether on the streets of Cape Town or on the slopes of Los Angeles, the "Earth Hour" gathers people from all corners of the world and the National Stadium "Bird's Nest" before and after the lights are turned off, and embarks on a journey to deal with global warming.

Baoding, China, under the leadership of the mayor, witnessed this beautiful dark moment. Beijing's new landmark buildings such as Bird's Nest, Water Cube and Linglong Tower, Shanghai Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower, World Financial Center, Nanjing Xuanwu Lake, Jiangsu TV Tower and other nearly 80 high-rise buildings in key areas also joined hands with many famous buildings around the world to participate in the lights-out activities.

Paris, the "City of Light", extinguished the lights of many world-famous buildings, including the Eiffel Tower, during the "Earth Hour" event. In Greece, thousands of Athenians took part in the "Earth Hour" to show their support for slowing global warming.

New york, Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Mexico City, Las Vegas and other major American cities will express their opinions on environmental protection under the long-lost starlight.

Before the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) event, O 'Damon said: "The Earth Hour event is entering the sprint stage. In this global city relay, more and more participants are turning off the lights. WWF hopes that more China cities will participate in this city relay. The water cube before and after the lights are turned off shows everyone's efforts and determination to deal with climate change. "

In March, an email with the theme "Please turn off the lights for one hour at 8:30-9:30 pm on March 28th, 2009" was circulated on the Internet and forwarded by many netizens. On the Internet of China with 300 million netizens, activities and discussions related to "Earth Hour" are in full swing.

It is reported that many large websites have set up special pages to report this in the form of special topics and special editions. Some websites also launched personalized homepages on March 28th, and their page background will change from "bright" to "dark" with the new "switch" button on the page, so that more netizens can also participate in the "Earth Hour" activities.

In online discussion forums and forums, netizens express their opinions. Some netizens plan to use this rare hour to "take a flashlight and go for a walk downstairs" or "look up at the stars on the balcony and count them one by one"; Some netizens suggested nostalgia, revisiting childhood games, and finding a few intimate friends to play chicken, hide-and-seek and play house in the evening … to experience childhood again; Some netizens suggested having a candlelight dinner with close friends and having a "storytelling contest" with neighbors and colleagues. There are also netizens in the Oriental Pearl TV Tower who want to be quiet, practice yoga or think about something before and after lights out. ...

For a time, "12 constellation scheme after lights out" became popular on the Internet, and some netizens created different versions of lights-out schemes, for example, the enjoyment version-lighting incense, sticking a mask and soaking feet; Warm version-lighting candles at home and chatting with family; Pet version-walking the dog at night; Humorous version-Like Ge You in If You Are the One, he repented in the dark and made an inventory of all the behaviors that are not environmentally friendly and harmful to the earth since kindergarten.

Most netizens expressed their support for "Earth Hour". Everyone regards this unplugged hour as an opportunity to enhance their feelings, a rare opportunity to return to nature and get close to nature. The famous pianist Lang Lang suggested that everyone listen to music. "Listening to music in a dark environment can highly concentrate and completely immerse yourself in the melody. At that moment, you will be deeply moved and will stimulate your imagination. "

In fact, "Earth Hour" has also aroused "* * *" from all walks of life. HSBC HSBC in 37 countries around the world turned off the office lights on the evening of the 28th. Canon also turned off landscape lighting, called on employees to go home and turn off the lights, and posted posters of activities in more than 700 dealerships; The landscape lighting of 240 stores of Jinjiang Inn and 44 properties of CapitaLand was closed. Yayue Hotel held a "Earth Hour Night" in its "Green Room" during its "Earth Hour", lit candles and invited guests to have a free drink for one hour. New World Shopping Centers, IKEA and Wal-Mart in Beijing and Shanghai have turned off landscape lighting and advocated green consumption with customers. ...

Students from more than 0/00 colleges and universities across the country also demonstrated their creativity in coping with climate change on that day. Unplugged concerts, stargazing at night, children's graffiti contests and candlelight messages from individuals, enterprises, communities and schools all pushed Earth Hour activities to a climax.

[Edit this paragraph] How to spend it

The following are ten ways suggested by WWF to use Earth Hour to reduce carbon emissions:

Participate in local "Earth Hour" activities, or hold a "Earth Hour" party and invite neighbors to participate;

Gather friends and relatives, have a picnic in the park at night and enjoy the starry sky; This hour, you can look up at the stars.

Enjoy a candlelight dinner at home;

Organize a treasure hunt in the dark;

Go out to walk the dog at night;

Relax and bathe in candlelight;

Everyone sits around in the dark and tells stories together;

Organize a family night, play chess or games;

Spend a romantic night with your lover;

Record the story of this hour with a video camera or a camera and upload it to /groups/earthhour2009global/ to share with you.

[Edit this paragraph] Activity significance

In 2008, the energy consumption of Earth Hour in Sydney decreased by 8.4%, which was equivalent to extinguishing 6,543.8+600,000 light bulbs. According to the data released by Christchurch, the only city in New Zealand that officially participated in the lights-out activities, the energy consumption decreased by nearly 13% after one hour of lights-out.

There is no doubt that the publicity effect of the lights-out show is far greater than the actual emission reduction effect. Under the relay of the global "Lights Out Show", more people began to realize the importance of energy conservation and emission reduction, and participated in this activity in their own way.

Stephanie Veric, consultant of a steel company in Peoria, Illinois, USA, held a party with the theme of "B YOC" for her friends, that is, "Bring your candles". After this experience, Stephanie Warwick, 42, decided to hold a "Earth Hour" at home once a month, and even planned to hold a "green funeral" for herself.

In 2008, with the arrival of "Earth Hour", citizens of many famous cities in the world began to enjoy candlelight dinners from Fiji, New Zealand to Australia, and then to Asia, Europe and America. Among them, the landmark cathedral in Christchurch, the third largest city in New Zealand, took the lead in turning off the lights under the auspices of the mayor. Hundreds of local people watched a documentary about environmental protection in Cathedral Square, and then flocked to local restaurants and bars together. All the candles were lit here and a candlelight dinner was held. Thousands of families have also started romantic candlelight trysts at home.

When the lights were turned off, a restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand temporarily stopped serving hot food and heated drinks, but people attending the candlelight banquet were still crowded with the restaurant. After the lights are turned off, the Sheraton Chicago Hotel provides guests with glowing ice cubes in the lobby, which is unique.

In the square in Copenhagen, Denmark, many people look up at the sky and stars. A spokesman for the World Wide Fund for Nature in Denmark said: "In the city, I'm afraid the days when you can see the stars are numbered."

In the Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, the Irish Astronomical Society has set up a huge telescope for people, hoping that people can enjoy the "splendid starry sky" when the city lights go out. Perhaps the best use of time is in some buildings in Chicago, such as the John Hancock Center, where managers used the lights-out time to permanently replace hundreds of incandescent bulbs with energy-saving ones.

In view of how to spend an hour on the evening of March 28th this year, the famous pianist Lang Lang's suggestion is humorous: "Listening to music in a dark environment can highly concentrate and completely immerse yourself in the melody. At that moment, you will be deeply moved and will stimulate your imagination. "

"Don't underestimate turning off the lights for an hour," said Hongyi, vice president of Bigen Investment China. "This city is one of the places that use a lot of electricity. If the city can turn off the unnecessary landscape lights for an hour, the energy saved will be a great number. "

"In just 60 minutes, you can actually make a great contribution to the earth, because every time you save 1 kWh, you reduce the emissions of 1 kg of carbon dioxide and 0.03 kg of sulfur dioxide." A WWF volunteer said.

According to statistics, in 2007, the first year of Earth Hour, Sydney, Australia set a goal of reducing energy consumption by 5%; On March 3rd last year 1 day, the electricity saved by Sydney alone was enough for 200,000 TV sets1hour, which was equivalent to 486 13 cars running for one hour less on the road, and the effect of energy saving and emission reduction was remarkable.

Hony said that "Earth Hour" unites the world through such a simple and direct way of activity, and reminds people to stop living and think about how to deal with global warming.

In his view, "many a mickle makes a mickle", with less and less non-renewable energy today, if more and more cities, enterprises and individuals participate in environmental protection and energy-saving activities such as "Earth Hour", it will help to promote energy conservation and greenhouse gas emission reduction, and further alleviate the environmental problems caused by global warming.

As an activity to raise public awareness of environmental protection, "Earth Hour" is just the beginning. For a city that has fulfilled the promise of "Earth Hour", advocating energy conservation and environmental protection after turning off the lights is the real meaning.

"Earth Hour" is more than just a light-off ceremony. In China, this activity is also the biggest support for the country to achieve the energy efficiency goal of 20% energy saving and emission reduction by 20 10, aiming at encouraging individuals and enterprises to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and take active actions to deal with climate change. "Earth Hour" is an energy-saving concept. Whether we use electricity at work or at home, we need our long-term efforts and support, and always remind ourselves to turn off unnecessary lights and unplug unnecessary power.

Bottom sound

In 2008, 5,000 people from 35 countries and regions took part in the "Earth Hour" campaign. Sydney Opera House, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, London City Hall ... The landmark buildings of all countries have fallen into darkness.

JohnRumney is an ecotourism practitioner on the Great Barrier Reef in northern Queensland, Australia. In recent years, Rumne has found serious coral reef bleaching in many popular diving spots. The phenomenon of coral reef bleaching is caused by environmental deterioration, and the main reason is the increase of seawater temperature. Other serious threats to coral reefs include overfishing and land pollution, which are aggravated by climate change.

Rumney said: "The health of the Great Barrier Reef is threatened by the deterioration of water quality, which is mainly due to the overuse of chemical fertilizers and the reduction of virgin forests and wetlands. But despite this, these are far less than the damage caused by global climate change to coral reefs. "

"Our environment is interrelated. Everyone knows that they shouldn't dump pesticides, toxic waste and rubbish in their neighbors' backyard. Similarly, no society should release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at will. "

"My family will support the' Earth Hour' activity, and we hope that this activity will make people realize their obligations as responsible neighbors of the earth."

Nora Royce is a snow mountain climber and personal trainer in Albany, New York, in the northeastern United States. She noticed that since the beginning of climbing the snow-capped mountains in the early 1970s, the snow and ice coverage has been significantly reduced.

Royce said, "I will never check my email when I travel." I don't have to care about what happens in the world outside my field. This is a very good experience, so is turning off the lights. Lighting with only candles is a very pleasant and romantic thing-provided you have a suitable object around you. "

"I think it would be better to turn off the lights more than once a year. Maybe we should do this from time to time, imagine that we spend an hour happily in the dark and imagine what interesting things we can do. "

Nicole and ChristophMüller, a German couple living in J mtland County in northern Sweden, said that the elderly in northern Sweden have also noticed the great changes in snowfall in recent years.

The region has recently experienced the warmest winter since 108. NicoleMüller said: "We believe that the' Earth Hour' action can raise people's awareness of the threats facing the world. People don't know enough about the influence of millions of household appliances such as speakers and televisions. These household appliances also consume energy when they are in standby. "

ChristophMüller said: "All these electric energy can be saved, thus greatly reducing the carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions of power stations. This will be a step to slow down the impact of global warming. "

background information

On March 3rd, 2007, the "Earth Hour" was held in Sydney for the first time. More than 2.2 million families and businesses in Sydney turned off their lights and appliances for one hour. As of March 2008, more than 270 cities have participated in this activity, with a population of over 50 million. In 2009, more than 80 countries and regions and more than 3,000 cities around the world joined the Earth Hour. In China, in addition to the official participation of the governments of Shanghai, Hongkong and Baoding, more than ten cities including Beijing, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Nanning, Nanchang, Wuhan, Hefei, Changchun, Changsha, Xi and Shunde actively responded and participated.

Attachment: Some major cities that have been identified to participate in the "Earth Hour" operation.

The participating cities confirmed in the list all meet at least one of the following conditions.

Turn off the lights of the landmark building

The mayor's support

There are local celebrities as ambassadors for Earth Hour.