Earth Hour – March 23rd - powerful symbol or useless icon?

Earth Hour – March 23rd - powerful symbol or useless icon?

Earth Hour. It's coming up on Saturday, March 23 from 8:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. This is the hour that people and business around the world volunteer to turn off their lights for one hour in solidarity for the planet.


Dubai : Emaar Properties, the global property developer, will mark Earth Hour 2013 on March 23, with its developments taking part in the global initiative to raise awareness on energy conservation and climate change.A highlight of the event is the ‘Earth Hour Walk’ which will start at Burj Plaza in Downtown Dubai, Emaar’s flagship mega-development that overlooks Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.


              (You could be kidding! ? , 
“Dewa recorded a milestone during Earth Hour 2012 by reducing the consumption of 216 MW of electricity and saving 130,000kg of carbon emissions,” Al Tayer                  
                             See  130,000kg   of carbon in an hour! think how               


Mumbai: Leading monuments that will turn dark during this interval include the CST administrative building, the BMC headquarters and Gateway of India.
              (Good most of that uses Incandescent lamps  :) )

Some people are sceptical about using candles during Earth Hour (an Australian initiative that has spread across the world). They argue that replacing one form of light with another, less efficient form, does not seem to be useful. (www.ecogeek.org)

However, what I see as useful is the effect on the human pscyhe; an educational process that alerts people to a problem and allows many people to generate a whole range of different ideas ('brain storming' on a global scale if you like). 

There is also evidence that power consumption in cities is reduced for that one hour. Perhaps some people or corporations will be inspired to turn off more unnecessary lights every night, for more than an hour. If so, the original aims of Earth Hour will have been achieved, whether or not people light candles that still obscure the heavens. (www.timeanddate.com)