Earth Hour

Earth Hour is an event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). On March 29, 2008, at 8:00 p.m. local time, people around the world turned out their lights simultaneously for one hour to help increase awareness about climate change. This marked the second annual event, and some 50 million people participated. The WWF is hoping that one billion people will participate in 2009, and they have gained promises of support from 2,400 cities in 83 countries.New York Times: Saving Energy—for an Hour (March 23, 2009)

In 2007, the WWF organized the first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, as a city wide event. Since then it has grown into a global event. Over 100 cities in North America participated in 2008, including most major cities across the United States and Canada.