Earth Hour 2015: Spread the word!

On Saturday, March 28 at 8:30 PM local time the lights will go dark in communities around the world as we celebrate Earth Hour. The World Wildlife Fund sponsors this annual event which has been taking place since 2007 and has supported a wide range of environmental issues. The first Earth Hour took place in Sydney, Australia as a symbolic stand against climate change and has grown into the largest mass participation event in history. Last year hundreds of millions of people in over 7,000 cities in 162 countries and territories participated with many countries taking actions beyond the hour.
A plus sign was added to the original event logo to encourage participation for more than an hour. The movement has evolved beyond simply switching off lights, with many nations using the opportunity to advance bold initiatives. For example, In 2013 Argentina used Earth Hour to mobilize support for a senate bill leading to the creation of a 3.4 million hectare marine reserve. Russian Parliament passed a law providing better protection from oil pollution in the country’s seas when an Earth Hour 2012 petition generated 122,000 signatures.