Be Part of Earth Hour

    EARTH HOUR - 7.30pm to 8.30pm - Saturday March 31, 2007

    Earth Hour is a fabulous opportunity for you and your family to
    do something about climate change. On one night, in one hour,
    more will be done, more will be demonstrated, and more will be
    learned than through a hundred 'talk-fests'.  And you can help
    make it happen.

    What is Earth Hour?
    It sounds simple, but it is very, very dramatic. At 7.30pm on
    March 31st 2007, we will be encouraging companies, government
    departments, individuals and families to turn off their lights
    for just one hour.  If we meet our objectives during the first
    Earth Hour, the savings in green house gas emissions will be
    the equivalent of taking 75,000 medium sized cars off the road
    for one whole year! Now that's something worth doing.

    Why?
    The facts are alarmingly clear:

          The climate is changing! The 10 hottest years on record
          have occurred since 1990. In fact 2005 was the hottest
          year since record keeping began. (Australian Bureau of
          Meteorology)

          Almost 70% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions come
          from energy production. (ABS)

          More than 95% of the Great Barrier Reef will have been
          destroyed by 2050 if carbon dioxide emissions aren't
          reduced. (WWF-International)

          One million species worldwide are facing extinction due
          to climate change. (University of Leeds)

    But not everybody listens to the facts. Earth Hour is your
    opportunity to demonstrate how a simple change in our way of
    life could change, and help save, our planet.

    The goals of Earth Hour:
          Households : Most of us use unnecessary electricity.
          Appliances on standby, old style light bulbs, lights left
          on when we're not using them. Earth Hour will help us all
          to realise just how simply we can make a dramatic impact
          upon global warming (and our own power bills). We will
          see it in action.

          Companies : We want companies to be involved. If every
          company in Australia turned off its lights when the
          buildings weren't in use, and combined it with energy
          saving technology, we would save between 2 and 4 million
          tonnes of greenhouse gasses every year. Earth Hour will
          show companies just how easy that is.

          Power Companies : We will be asking power companies to
          provide special deals for companies and households to
          switch to Green Power.

          To make it an annual event : Out of the 8,766 hours in a
          year, let's give one back to the earth.

    What you can do:

          Sign up to Earth Hour and Pledge to turn off your lights
          on March 31st from 7.30pm to 8.30pm by logging onto
          www.earthhour.org. You will receive all the information
          you need to make Earth Hour a great success (and to cut
          your own energy bills in the long term). Pledging is free.

          Get off standby : Turn off all the electronic equipment
          and appliances in your home that are not being used or
          are on standby. Computers, televisions, stereo equipment,
          phone chargers, DVD or video equipment -  you can find
          out more about this from WWF at wwf.org.au

          Tell a friend : Spread the word about earth Hour by
          involving your friends, family and workmates. Get them to
          pledge at earthhour.org and most importantly, turn off
          the lights at 7.30pm Saturday 31 March 2007.

          Another thing you can do before the event is switch to
          Green Power: Contact your electricity provider today.  If
          all Australians switched to Green Power the saving in CO
          2 emissions would be the equivalent of what is pumped out
          of 40 million cars! That's like taking every car in
          Australia off the road four times over.

          Spread the word - Once you have signed up for Earth Hour
          tell a friend; spread the word at work; tell your boss;
          mention it at school, at your local sports club or
          society group, you can even run it past your neighbours!

          Make it an event. Get the neighbours to switch off their
          lights and head out into the park for the hour; take some
          binoculars and look at the stars; sit and talk; explore
          your backyard by torchlight; have fun with sparklers; or
          just go for a stroll. Do something non-electric as a
          family ＿ make some candles, read by their light; have a
          picnic-at-dusk; pretend you are camping; have a
          candlelight dinner.
   

    For more info on Earth Hour, check out www.earthhour.org

    EARTH HOUR.  MAKE IT HAPPEN.