Dear Residents. I thought this was so interesting I'd share it with you:

Cape Town - At precisely 20:30 on March 28 the diesel generators will
be switched off on the Chatham Islands, a small archipelago off the
east coast of New Zealand, heralding the start of the greatest
community event the world has ever witnessed - Earth Hour 2009.

As the first country to flick the switch for the global event, WWF New
Zealand's Earth Hour organiser, Dairne Poole sees her country as
playing a vital role in Earth Hour's journey to reach one billion
people in over 1 000 cities, across 25 time zones.

"New Zealand will be the first country in the world to turn its lights
off for Earth Hour 2009 with 43 councils and local bodies taking part.


"Even though we are a small nation, we are setting an important
example for others to witness and hopefully follow," says Poole.

Collective voice

The global wave of participation will gather momentum through Asia
Pacific with major cities such as Sydney, Seoul, Beijing, Hong Kong,
Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Cape Town, Mumbai
and Delhi dimming the lights as millions flick the switch to express
their concern for the planet.

Across the globe Earth Hour will provide the platform for a collective
voice to be heard from each and every time zone.

From the streets of Cape Town to the Hills of Los Angeles, Earth Hour
will unite people from all walks of life as the call for action on
climate change makes its transglobal journey.

Paris, the "City of Lights" will make a powerful statement by turning
off its famous lights, including the Eiffel Tower, for Earth Hour.

In the birthplace of democracy, thousands of Athenians will gather to
watch the lights go out at the Acropolis in acknowledgement of their
vote for action on climate change.

Metropolises across the Americas including New York, Rio de Janeiro,
Toronto, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Mexico City and Las Vegas will see
their united voice accompanied by unfamiliar lighting - stars.

Beginning of journey to Copenhagen

Earth Hour Executive Director, Andy Ridley, said that Earth Hour
signals the beginning of the journey to Copenhagen, where the future
of the planet rests with world leaders.

"Earth Hour will focus global attention on addressing the issue of
climate change. We are asking one billion people to take part in what
is essentially the first global vote for action on climate change by
turning off their lights for one hour and casting a vote for earth,"
he said.

"Earth Hour hopes to provide a global mandate for action on climate
change to the world's leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen in December this year, where an agreement will be made to
supersede the Kyoto Protocol.

"It is imperative this agreement leads to a sustainable outcome that
suitably addresses climate change. Earth Hour presents an opportunity
for every person in the world to have a say in that agreement's
outcome and ensure it isn't merely an insubstantial token effort by
our world's leaders," said Ridley.

For this reason it is imperative that people who support the call for
action on climate change sign up online.

This will ensure that WWF is able to calculate and communicate the
amount of support garnered for such action.

- News24