The lights are being switched off around the world at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, to mark the 10th annual Earth Hour, and to draw attention to climate change. The initiative began in Australia in 2007 as a grass roots gesture by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Australia against man-made carbon dioxide emissions linked to a warming planet. Among the famous buildings and structures taking part in Australia are Sydney’s Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Luna Park, Town Hall, and Sydney Tower Eye. While the organizers of Earth Hour said they do not audit results of the energy saving initiative, the group has commissioned research indicating up to one in four Australians gets involved. WWF says Earth Hour can take credit for various environmental initiatives, like the 2013 declaration of a 3.4 million hectare marine park in the waters off Argentina, the planting of a forest in Uganda and a ban on soft plastics in the Galapagos Island.

Source: Huffington Post March 25, 2017 22:30 UTC