3.29.2008 7:41 AM

What Is Earth Hour?

Composite satellite view of the world at night, showing light pollution.

Photo: NASA

By Dan Shapley

As you may have heard, Earth Hour is fast approaching – Saturday, March 29. So what does that mean, exactly?

Earth Hour began last year in Sydney, Australia, as a way to get an entire city to help do something about climate change. A symbolic act, it nevertheless managed to cut individual energy use by a fraction as people across the city shut off the lights.

This year, the event is going worldwide, with Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco participating in the United States. (If you participated in Lights Out America last fall, you know what Earth Hour is about.) Anyone, though, can participate, even if a local government or organization has not formally signed up. More than 150,000 individuals and tens of thousands of schools, businesses and other organizations plan to participate.

Just shut out all the lights between 8 and 9 p.m.

The benefits of the Earth Hour idea are also evident for backyard stargazers, whose view of the night sky is typically obscured by light pollution.

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