Earth Hour - United States and Canada

The 60 minutes from 8 to 9 pm on March 29, 2008 made a remarkable hour. Earth Hour. People around the globe, on all seven continents, turned out their lights to add their voices to a worldwide call for climate action. In the United States alone, an estimated 36 million Americans took part in Earth Hour, according to a Zogby survey.

The Golden Gate Bridge dimmed its pearls of lights. The Sears Tower and the Empire State Building turned off everything non-essential, and the Coca-Cola billboard in Times Square went black. Alcatraz went dark. So did the outside of the CNN Center in Atlanta, and all of downtown Phoenix. Google turned its home page black for the day.

Denver, Pittsburgh, Miami, Honolulu, Dallas and St. Louis. Homer Glen, Illinois and Opelika, Alabama. Martha's Vineyard and La Grange, Texas. Across America, in more than 100 cities and towns, people called for change. Around the world from Australia to Zimbabwe, Rome to Uzbekistan, Canada to Uruguay and even at the South Pole, the message that we can all help slow climate change shined brightly through the dark.

Earth Hour broke down boundaries. On all seven continents around the world people from different backgrounds, cultures, and geographies came together to press for urgent change. Governments, non-profit groups, large and small businesses and ordinary citizens joined to call on each other and the world to find a new direction.

Look back one year. Earth Hour 2007 started in one city, in one country, on one continent. Now look ahead. When you turn out your lights for Earth Hour 2009 on March 28, be ready to say what you've done all year to slow climate change. Visit worldwildlife.org/climate for more ideas. And check back to earthhour.org soon for details on Earth Hour 2009.

One hour. One remarkable hour. Earth Hour.