Earth Hour 2009 was a huge success in Ireland, with the equivalent of more than 700,000 lights switched off for an hour on 28th March. Government offices, businesses and individuals joined in the global Earth Hour initiative, which aims to highlight the threat from climate change.
Up to one billion participants in 88 countries chose to Vote Earth, according to sponsors, the World Wildlife Fund. The results of this ‘election’ will be presented at the Global Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December in the hopes that world leaders will take urgent action against global warming.
Electricity consumption in Ireland dropped by two per cent during Earth Hour, according to EirGrid, resulting in a saving of 30 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Eirgrid hailed the success of the symbolic initiative and called on consumers to follow up with further efforts to reduce energy consumption. We can all play our part by switching off lights in unoccupied rooms, not leaving electrical items on standby and by replacing light bulbs with energy-efficient ones.
Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, said he hoped people would make a permanent change in the way they use energy: “By doing your bit and not wasting energy every day, you can also save hundreds of euro a year.”
Earth Hour executive director, Andy Ridley, said Earth Hour is a hugely positive campaign: “It’s always around street parties, not street protests, it’s the idea of hope not despair. And I think that’s something that’s been incredibly important this year because there is so much despair around. On the other side of it, there’s savings in cutting your power usage and being more sustainable and more efficient.”