Environmentalists Hail Earth Hour As A Big Success
VANESSA GERA | March 29, 2009 08:04 AM EST | AP
A combination photo of a night view of the site of the ancient Giza Pyramids before and after switching off the lights for the Earth Hour, in Cairo, Egypt Saturday March 28, 2009. From an Antarctic research base to the Great Pyramids of Egypt and beyond, the world switched off the lights on Saturday for the second Earth Hour, dimming skyscrapers, city streets and some of the world's most recognizable monuments for 60 minutes to highlight the threat of climate change. (AP Photo/Nasser Nouri)
BONN, Germany — For environmental activists, the message was clear: Earth Hour was a huge success.
Now they say nations have a mandate to tackle climate change.
"The world said yes to climate action, now governments must follow," the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said a day after hundreds of millions of people worldwide followed its call to turn off lights for a full hour.
From an Antarctic research base and the Great Pyramids of Egypt, from the Colosseum in Rome to the Empire State building in New York, illuminated patches of the globe went dark Saturday night to highlight the threat of climate change. Time zone by time zone, nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries dimmed nonessential lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
WWF called the event, which began in Australia in 2007 and grew last year to 400 cities worldwide, "the world's first-ever global vote about the future of our planet."
"Last night's message from the masses was loud and clear: Delay no more, real action now!" Kim Carstensen, the leader of WWF's Global Climate Initiative, said in a statement.
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