Earth Hour: an annual international event created by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund), held on the last Saturday of March, that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.
10 million—total combined readership for magazines committed to running Earth Hour advertisements over the coming month. Includes: Martha Stewart Living, National Geographic, Oprah Magazine, Allure, J14, Health, Family Circle.
746,698—unique visitors to www.EarthHourUS.org.
105,727—registered participants on the Earth Hour US website to date.
48,000—letters sent to elected officials asking for action on climate change via the Earth Hour website.
29,000—number of times the official Earth Hour video has been viewed on YouTube in the past 90 days. Average is 1,500 views a day.
1,000—new friends signing up to WWF’s Facebook page each day as a result of Earth Hour.
8,000—blogs mentioning Earth Hour to date.
4,314—unique visitors to the EarthHourKids.org site.
200—stories about Earth Hour on prominent online sources in the US (not including blogs). Highlights include Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Sprig and Blender.
78—countries taking part in Earth Hour. Nearly 700 cities have already signed up.
75—TV news stories in the US featuring Earth Hour.
29—number of days to Earth Hour.
28—US cities now pledged to turn out for Earth Hour.
20—seconds that elapse before someone new views the Earth Hour video.
7—seconds that elapse before “Earth Hour” is mentioned somewhere on the web.
4—US TV networks planning coverage.
I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS: Support for Earth Hour is building among organizations across many sectors, many of which have committed to reaching out to their own constituents to build greater awareness. The list includes:
- American Federation of Teachers
- American Institute of Architects
- Association of Science-Technology Centers Inc.
- Astronomical League
- CarbonfreeDC
- Energy Action Coalition
- Environmental Defense Fund
- Goddard Schools
- Green School Alliance
- ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
- Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots Program
- National Association of Secondary School Principals
- National Conversation on Climate Action
- National Education Association
- National Science Teachers Association
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Newspaper Association of America Foundation
- Reading Is Fundamental
- U.S. Conference of Mayors
- Unitarian Universalist Association
- United Church of Christ
- World Organization of the Scout Movement
- Youth Service of America
CAN WE TALK?: One great way for communities to translate Earth Hour into action that will last beyond March 28th is to take part in the National Conversation on Climate Action, organized by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Earth Day Network and AmericaSpeaks. The National Conversation is an unprecedented community engagement effort that is designed for and driven by local governments. Communities can register at www.climateconversation.org.
YOUR LIGHT SWITCH IS YOUR BALLOT: Earth Hour’s new VOTE EARTH global ad campaign launches this week, with voice over provided by Cate Blanchett, music by Coldplay and graphics from artist Shepard Fairey, who created the iconic picture of President Obama. Now available for viewing on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/earthhour2009.
CALIFORNIA DREAMING: Earth Hour officially launched in California this week with kick-off events in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Other Golden State cities turning out on March 28th include El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, and Santa Rosa.
DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS: Dallas Mayor Tom Leppart will declare March 28th Earth Hour day in the big “D” during a press conference on March 4th. Houston is also participating and turning out their lights.
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS: The city’s iconic Gateway Arch will go dark as St. Louis announces it will take part in Earth Hour.
SEATTLE AND DENVER BECOME LATEST MAJOR US CITIES TO TURN OUT: They join a growing roster that now includes Acton, MA; Ann Arbor, MI; Boulder, CO; Commerce City, CO; Eugene, OR; Hamlet of Beavercreek, OR; Homer Glen, IL; Houston, TX; Orlando, FL; St. Louis, MO; Minneapolis, MN; Sarasota, FL; Valdosta, GA; Village of Hoffman Estates, IL.
You say your hometown STILL hasn’t yet seen the light? With just a month to go, there’s no time to lose. Visit www.earthhourus.org/toolkits.php to bring Earth Hour to your city, town, community or school system.
AND IT’S ONE, TWO, THREE LIGHTS YOU’RE OUT: The world famous WWF Panda (known to friends simply as “Pandy”) will take the field at the San Francisco Giants exhibition game in Phoenix on March 23rd, for live broadcast back in the Bay area. The scoreboard is set to go dark during the 7th inning stretch and the announcers will have Earth Hour message points in hand as they chat up the event on-air. Special thanks to national sponsor Esurance for bringing Pandy to the ballpark! Esurance makes it easy to offset your vehicle’s CO2 emissions. This special deal is only available for a limited time, so visit www.esurance.com/EarthHour to get all the details and sign up!
SHOW ME THE MONEY: National sponsor Wells Fargo will begin displaying Earth Hour ads on its ATMs across the US in the next few weeks asking people to take part in the largest climate event in history.
FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLL: The Church of Sweden will ring its bells across the country to signal the start of Earth Hour. Down under, Sydney Ferries will be sounding the horns of all its ferry boats operating in Sydney Harbour at 8:30 pm, heralding Earth Hour in the city where the campaign first began.
PAST IS PROLOGUE: If 2009 is anything like 2008, the final weeks leading up to Earth Hour will bring a massive uptick in interest. We want to thank our friends and supporters who are working overtime to make this the most successful climate change event in history. A special shout-out to 2009 national sponsors Esurance, The Coca-Cola Company, Cox Conserves, Wells Fargo, and HP. If your company or organization wants to play a role in supporting this historic event, please drop us an email at EarthHour@wwfus.org and register at www.EarthHourUS.org.
Wherever you find yourself on March 28th, the odds are darn good you’ll find a city or community somewhere nearby that is making plans to turn out the lights for Earth Hour. With less than a month to go, nearly 700 cities are seeing the light and turning it off in support of action on climate change. We are nearly three quarters of the way towards our global goal of 1,000 cities!
Mark your calendar, tell your friends. Earth Hour is March 28, 2009, at 8:30 pm.
