Critical Times

Earth Hour is a fabulous opportunity for you and your family to do
something about climate change. On one night, in one hour, more will be
done, more will be demonstrated, and more will be learned
than through a hundred ‘talk-fests’. And you can help make it
happen.

What is Earth Hour?

At 7.30pm on March 31st 2007, we will be encouraging companies,
government departments, individuals and families to turn off their
lights for Just one hour. If we meet our objectives during the first
Earth Hour, The savings in green house gas emissions will be the
equivalent of Taking 75,000 medium sized cars off the road for one whole
year! Now that’s something worth doing.

Why?

The facts are alarmingly clear:

• The climate is changing! The 10 hottest years on record have occurred
  since 1990. In fact 2005 was the hottest year since record keeping
  began. (Australian Bureau of Meteorology).

• Almost 70% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions come from energy
  production. (ABS).

• More than 95% of the Great Barrier Reef will have been destroyed by
  2050 if carbon dioxide emissions aren’t reduced. (WWF-International).

• One million species worldwide are facing extinction due to climate
  change. (University of Leeds).

But not everybody listens to the facts. Earth Hour is your opportunity
to demonstrate how a simple change in our way of life could change, and
help save, our planet.

The goals of Earth Hour:

• Households : Most of us use unnecessary electricity. Appliances on
  standby, old style light bulbs, lights left on when we’re not using
  them. Earth Hour will help us all to realise just how simply we can make
  a dramatic impact upon global warming (and our own power bills). We will
  see it in action.

• Companies : We want companies to be involved. If every company in
  Australia turned off its lights when the Buildings weren’t in use, and
  combined it with energy saving technology, we would save between 2 and 4
  million tonnes of greenhouse gasses every year.

Earth Hour will show companies just how easy that is.

• Power Companies : We will be asking powercompanies to provide special
  deals for companies and households to switch to Green Power.

• To make it an annual event : Out of the 8,766 hours in a year, let’s
  give one back to the earth.

What you can do:

• Sign up to Earth Hour and Pledge to turn off your lights on March
  31st from 7.30pm to 8.30pm by logging On to www.earthhour.org . You
  will receive all the information you need to make Earth Hour a great
  success (and to cut your own energy bills in the longterm).

Pledging is free.

• Get off standby : Turn off all the electronic equipment and
  appliances in your home that are not being used or are on standby.
  Computers, televisions, stereo equipment, phone chargers, DVD or video
  equipment – you can find out more about this from WWF at wwf.org.au

• Tell a friend : Spread the word about earth Hour by involving your
  friends, family and workmates. Get them to pledge at earthhour.org and
  most importantly, turn off the lights at 7.30pm Saturday 31 March 2007.

• Another thing you can do before the event is switch to Green Power:
  Contact your electricity provider today. If all Australians switched to
  Green Power the saving in CO 2 emissions would be the equivalent of what
  is pumped out of 40 million cars! That’s like taking every car in
  Australia off the road four times over.

• Spread the word – Once you have signed up for Earth Hour tell a
  friend; spread the word at work; tell your boss; mention it at school,
  at your local sports club or society group, you can even run it past
  your neighbours!

• Make it an event. Get the neighbours to switch off their lights and
  head out into the park for the hour; take Some binoculars and look at
  the stars; sit and talk; explore your backyard by torchlight; have fun
  with sparklers; or just go for a stroll. Do something non-electric as a
  family (make some candles, read by their light; have a picnic-at-dusk;
  pretend you are camping; have a candlelight dinner.

For more info on Earth Hour, check out www.earthhour.org

EARTH HOUR. MAKE IT HAPPEN.