Mon, Mar 29, 2010 page4

• World’s iconic sites go dark during Earth Hour

  A BRIGHT IDEA Four thousand cities in 125 countries went lights out as part of a campaign to boost efforts to save the environment after global talks disappointed

  • AFP
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  Iconic New York City skyscrapers the Empire State and the Chrysler Building, along with landmarks from the Eiffel Tower to Sydney harbor went dark for an hour on Saturday to raise awareness over the fight against climate change.

  The tallest building in North America also turned its exterior lights off along with more than 200 buildings in downtown Chicago for Earth Hour.

  The 110-story Sears Tower, recently renamed the Willis Tower, joined the iconic Chicago Theater, Wrigley Building and Navy Pier in dimming the city’s skyline.

  

  The Forbidden City is pictured as the lights go out for Earth Hour in Beijing on Saturday.

  PHOTO: AFP

  “By participating in the symbolic event of Earth Hour, we show that, together, we can collectively make a difference to protect and preserve the environment,” Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said.

  Earlier, the Eiffel Tower lost its glow and lights were shut off at other sites across the globe in a campaign to boost the fight against climate change.

  The worldwide brownout was a noisy event in Sydney harbor, with ferry horns blaring to mark the start of the energy-saving event, involving 4,000 cities in a record 125 countries.

  It was to include 1,200 landmarks from the Forbidden City to Egypt’s pyramids and the Las Vegas Strip, with iconic sites going dark for 60 minutes.

  “From Brazil to America, to ­Canada, all the way down to ­Australia, Japan and India — it’s a really diverse set of countries taking part this year,” Earth Hour executive director Andy Ridley said.

  The rolling wave of darkness, timed for 8:30pm in each locality, was intended to boost the environmental movement after disappointing UN talks in Copenhagen in December.

  The WWF-run event officially began when New Zealand’s Chatham Islands switched off their diesel generators to leave just 12 street lamps burning and was to end nearly 24 hours later in Samoa.

  In Beijing, the Forbidden City and Bird’s Nest Stadium were among the participants in China, the world’s biggest carbon polluter. China appointed giant panda Mei Lan its Earth Hour “ambassador.”

  But in Bangkok, city authorities were ordered to halt their Earth Hour campaign for security ­reasons as anti-government protesters held a major rally.

  Hiroshima turned off the lights at 30 sites, including its Peace Memorial, set in one of the few buildings to survive an atom bomb attack during World War II.

  Private homes also switched off their power. New Delhi mom Aruna Mehra said: “My daughter invited her friends over for a party to eat by candlelight” — although others drew the line at switching off fans in the sweltering heat.

  In Delhi and Mumbai, lights were switched off at shops, hotels, the Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential residence, the 17th-century Red Fort and the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple complex, one of India’s largest Hindu places of worship.

  India is expected to be among the countries hit hardest by rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns.
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