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Earth Hour Reduces Energy Usage by 8% in Some Countries

March 30, 2008 - It certainly would be great if Earth Hour was longer than just one hour over the course of a year, but the fact remains that Earth Hour 2008 was an even greater success than its inaugural year in 2007. Following a show of some tens of million people around the world shutting their lights off for one hour yesterday, it is apparent that people, cities and countries are beginning to unite in order to curb global warming and become more sustainable.

In fact, this year's Earth Hour will indeed likely inspire more people around the world to make even more of their own Earth Hour's throughout the year and implement the practices of sustainability and conservation that it embodies. The whole idea behind Earth Hour to is create more public awareness about conserving energy, more so than actually saving the energy itself. It's the little things that people do in their daily lives that will truly make the difference.

Yet, in countries like Australia, where a drop of over 8% energy usage was recorded, enough energy to power 1.6 million light bulbs was saved. Toronto also saw a major drop in energy usage, while the entire province of Ontario had a drop of over 5%. In total, some 26 countries signed up for Earth Hour, although not every individual city or territory in these countries officially participated. That didn't keep residents from doing so, however. According to Earth Hour's organizers in Australia, citizens from every country in the world participated.

Some cities were more than willing to do their part for Earth Hour. In Sydney, for instance, the lights of skyscrapers and public monuments, like the Sydney Opera House, were turned off. Dublin turned off the lights on thirteen of fourteen bridges in the city, Chicago turned off the lights on Sears Tower and San Francisco plunged the Golden Gate Bridge into total darkness.

Congratulations to the organizers behind Earth Hour. May the rest of this year and future Earth Hours see even more people conserving energy and incorporating sustainable practices into their lives for the well being of our planet and future generations!

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