link to WWF

About Earth Hour 2010 Bermuda

Where Earth Hour started

sydneybeforeandafter1Earth Hour was first celebrated two years ago in Sydney, Australia. More than two million people and thousands of businesses turned off their lights, allowing the message about climate change to shine brightly. In March 2008, Earth Hour went global. Over 400 cities, thousands of businesses and more than 50 million people around the world, on all seven continents, turned off their lights for one hour to demonstrate their commitment to slowing the effects of climate change. An estimated 36 million Americans reported participating.

   

Going global

globalmatchFrom Amman to Warsaw, the skylines of more than 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries went dark for Earth Hour 2009 as individuals, businesses, government buildings, schools and major landmarks turned off non-essential lighting for the world's largest climate event in history. The list of participating cities included Auckland, Beijing, Bogota, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Homer Glen, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Kiev, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, London, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, Oslo, Rome, Singapore, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Wellington and Vancouver.

The Earth Hour movement captured the public’s imagination in 2008, with lights going out at some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, including the Sydney Opera House, Bangkok’s Wat Arun Buddhist temple, the Coliseum in Rome, Stockholm’s Royal Castle, London’s City Hall, New York’s Empire State Building, Sears Tower in Chicago and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Other symbols going dark included Cola-Cola’s famous billboard in Times Square and the Google home page.

The event entered popular culture, with stories appearing on Oprah!, the NBC Nightly News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, the CBS Evening News, CNN, NPR, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, Time.com, Yahoo.com, Delta Airlines’ Sky Magazine cover and more.

   

Arriving in Bermuda

palmlights1In the middle of 2008, Greenrock reached out to WWF with the idea of making Bermuda a flagship country for the 2009 celebration of Earth Hour. Greenrock received the endorsement of the Corporations of Hamilton and St George’s, which became the local landmarks for Earth Hour. In addition to the support of the two corporations, Greenrock received the commitment and financial sponsorship of the Government of Bermuda.

Key activities Greenrock plans to do for Earth Hour 2010:

  • Encourage everyone to switch off your lights for one hour, Saturday 27 March 8:30PM
  • Go out to every school and give a 10 minute presentation on EH and to answer any questions
  • Create a student challenge with prizes to get as many students to post their comments with pictures or drawings on what they had done to participate in Earth Hour
  • Encouraging restaurants and retailers to place Earth Hour Decals in their windows stating they will be participating in Earth Hour by turning down or turning off their lights 


The 2010 Implementation and Planning Council comprised the following members:

  • Andrew Vaucrosson, President, Greenrock
  • Zoe Mulholland, Corporation of Hamilton
  • Fiona Lines, Chamber of Commerce
  • Tanya Corbridge, Bermuda Facilities Management Association
  • Susan McGrath-Smith, Bermuda Electric Light Company (BELCO)
  • Deanna Bailey, Bermuda Electric Light Company (BELCO)
  • Nicky O'Leary, Sustainable Development Unit, Cabinet Office, Bermuda Government
  • Chris Worboys, Department of Energy, Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications & E-commerce
  • Lorissa Peters, Volunteer and Social Cmtee, Greenrock
  • Michael Jardine, Treasurer, Greenrock
  • Stephanie Lima, Executive Assistant, Greenrock
  • Suzanne Wilson, Public Relations, AAC

 

   



Bermuda Facilities Management Association
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Bermuda Government Department of Energy
Department of Energy