Last March 31, 2.2 million people and 2,100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour — Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2 per cent for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour. This action has lead the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF, Australia) to do it again this year, but on a much greater scale.

“Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming. This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm on the 29 March, 2008 millions of people in some of the world's major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane, Tel Aviv and Manila will unite and switch off for Earth Hour,” said the website www.earthhour.org about this years goal.

Sometimes we may ask ourselves how one person can make a difference, and yes one person can, but one persons actions can move someone else so much that more people do it because it inspires them. That is how one person can make a difference.

Please help the WWF this year and on March 29 simply make a statement for this country and for the world. Maybe turning off your lights for one hour might not stop global warming, but it will send a message to the world, telling everyone that we too are concerned about the future of our planet. So grab candles and flashlights and turn off all of your lights for one hour. Play a board game or study with some friends. All of us at Fanshawe can make a difference.

Please visit the website www.earthhour.org to find out more information.