Earth Hour around the world
ENOne hour in the dark to save the planet... This is the operation Earth HourSaturday night, in several thousand cities and more than 60 countries, by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Here, the famous Petronas Towers of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, without light.
More great images from this Earth Hour all over the world, here:
" picture gallery on The Detroit Free Press (Freep.com)
Sydney kicked off the event: the opera house and the bridge over the bay were suddenly plunged into darkness. All over the world, the lights of more than 370 monuments, including the Eiffel Tower, the pyramids of Giza, the Acropolis and the Empire State Building, were turned off. Some of them for only a few minutes, instead of the promised 60 minutes.
The gesture was symbolic. The objective was to raise awareness around the world about energy savings and global warming, nine months before the Copenhagen summit on this topic. The impact in France is estimated at a drop of just over 1% in electricity consumption.
I confess, I didn't do anything special for the planet between 8:30 and 9:30 pm on Saturday night. I was sending an email to a colleague to complete an article, for work...
But this media and symbolic eclipse of electricity reminded me of night flights, during my trips to the East (not ecological at all, when you think of the kerosene consumed by long-haul flights). Seen from the sky, rich and poor countries are easily recognizable. The first ones shine with all their lights, drawing sumptuous luminous mosaics on the ground. In comparison, the second ones seem to have only loupiottes...
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Hey, nice towers in Kuala...hope to see them in July....
For my part, I haven't done much for the planet either....honte à moi!!!!Biz!
@ Helen: I'm so glad you left a little comment. I chose this image with you and your vacation plans in mind... 😉
The most important thing is to make small gestures on a daily basis, and not just on the day the WWF decrees it. Every day, sort your garbage, make sure you don't waste water, gas or electricity, use your car less, and so on.
@Nono: Yes, that's the paradox of us self-righteous Westerners. We want a greener world, but you, like me, aren't ready to give up long-distance travel. As for the much-publicized carbon offsetting, I don't really believe in it. It seems to me to be just another marketing concept to buy a good conscience. I try to be careful on a daily basis, as I was saying to Hélène above. A drop in the ocean, I know... If on top of that, Miss Maine's election eats up thousands of kilowatts, we're in trouble...
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I was lucky enough to attend the election of Miss Maine (yes, I was), and as far as lights were concerned, it was a far cry from night lights. In fact, I had some difficulty photographing because of the huge spotlights spurting out tons of light. As I travel more than the average person, I regularly feel guilty about all the kerosene I've swallowed and my part in harming the planet. But I continue to fly. But I still fly, and I turn off the fluorescent lights that consume next to nothing... My approach is as logical as that of the ecologists who have chosen to live in the countryside and who guzzle diesel to get to work, shop or go to the movies. It's not always easy to agree with your ideas.
Earth Hour in Hong Kong (link to album at end of article) to complete your collection!
Good bridge!
Earth Day today, April 22!