From Sydney to Chicago, world cities went dark at the weekend, joining the Earth Hour campaign to raise worldwide awareness to the threat of climate change.
The campaign began last year in Australia, and traveled this year from the South Pacific to Europe to North America in cadence with the setting of the sun.
What's amazing is that it's transcending political boundaries, said Andy Ridley, executive director of Earth Hour.
Sightseers eat picnic dinners as they view Sydney's central business district after many lights were turned off during earth hour on March 29, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)Earth Hour officials hoped 100 million people would turn off their nonessential lights and electronic goods for the hour. Electricity plants produce greenhouse gases that fuel climate change.
In Chicago, lights on more than 200 downtown buildings were dimmed Saturday night.
And in Sydney, Australia, the city's two architectural icons, the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, faded to black against a dramatic backdrop of a lightning storm.
In Greece, the first on the continent to mark Earth Hour, parts of Athens itself, including the floodlit city hall, also turned to black.
The Internet search engine Google also joined the environmental effort, posting a message to its visitors during the second-annual event.
"We've turned the lights out. Now it's your turn," the popular site offered visitors.
Source:Xinhua/Agencies
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