Sun, Mar 28, 2010 page4

• World landmarks to turn off lights for Earth Hour

  CLIMATE CHANGE Iconic structures from London to Beijing were to join the campaign yesterday — but not Bangkok amid plans for a major anti-government rally

  • AFP
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  Global landmarks from Sydney’s Opera House to the Forbidden City to the glittering Las Vegas Strip were scheduled to turn off their lights yesterday, as activists bid to reinvigorate the climate change fight.

  Hundreds of millions of homes, in scores of cities scattered around 125 countries were also expected to join the great Earth Hour switch-off, which comes just months after disappointing UN climate talks in Copenhagen.

  Iconic structures like the Empire State Building and Egypt’s pyramids were to follow conservation group WWF’s call to turn off the lights in the name of environmentalism, creating a wave of darkness that rolled across the world.

  

  Visitors look at the “Save Earth and Save Power” sand sculpture created by artist Sudarshan Patnaik at the Golden Sea beach in Puri, about 65km from the Indian city of Bhubaneswar city on Friday.

  PHOTO: EPA

  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the campaign, now in its fourth year and expected to attract record participation, “both a warning and a beacon of hope.”

  “Climate change is a concern for each of us. Solutions are within our grasp and are ready to be implemented by individuals, communities, businesses and governments around the globe,” Ban said.

  Sydney’s Opera House and Harbour Bridge were to informally kick off proceedings at 8:30pm along with millions of Australian households.

  The pattern was to be replicated at the same local time across the world, spreading across Asia to the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas and including 1,200 famous landmarks.

  Beijing’s Forbidden City and Bird’s Nest Stadium were among the participants along with dozens of cities in China, the world’s biggest carbon polluter, where giant panda Mei Lan is an Earth Hour ambassador.

  Hong Kong’s renowned neon waterfront was to temporarily dim, as well as the Singapore Flyer observation wheel and office buildings in Jakarta and Seoul, before India’s massive urban centers of Delhi and Mumbai join the power-down.

  London’s Big Ben and Manchester United’s Old Trafford soccer ground were set to take part amongst Europe’s best known spots including Paris’s Notre Dame cathedral and the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

  In the US, about 30 states were on board, with Mount Rushmore, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and Chicago’s 110-story Sears Tower all due to go dark.

  In Bangkok, however, the city’s authorities were under military orders to halt their Earth Hour campaign for security reasons, as anti-government protesters planned another major rally.

  Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney and now enjoys widespread support both from the public and big business, including Google, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.

  This year, even users of ubiquitous Twitter and Facebook were able to show their support with special applications that turn their displays dark.
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