“Earth Hour”: An hour without light

Status: 03/26/2023 09:48 am

Also this year, many countries switched off the lights on their landmarks for an hour on the occasion of the “Earth Hour” climate protest campaign. Russia explicitly refused to participate.

Symbolic darkness in the name of environmental protection: around the world, many people during the “Earth Hour” Switched off the lights for an hour. According to the organizers, there were corresponding campaigns in around 190 countries and hundreds of cities on Saturday under the motto “Together for more climate protection”.

The climate and environmental protection campaign launched by the WWF in Australia has been setting an example since 2007 that humanity must take better care of the earth.

“The ‘Earth Hour’ is not about saving energy by turning off the lights,” explained the WWF. Rather, the action is a symbolic and peaceful form of protest. “Forest fires, droughts and floods in 2022 have once again shown us the dramatic effects of the climate crisis,” said the WWF. “This decade will decide whether we can still limit the climate crisis to a manageable level.”

The lights go out in Germany

For the “Earth Hour” from 8:30 p.m. local time, sights, offices and homes remained dark for 60 minutes. In Germany, the Brandenburg Gate traditionally gets the most attention as the landmark of the capital Berlin. But the light was also switched off for an hour at Hamburg City Hall, Cologne Cathedral and the Frauenkirche in Dresden. Every year, private households are also asked to switch off their lights together. A total of more than 550 locations nationwide took part in the campaign.

Unlike in previous years, the lighting did not have to be switched off in some places – because it was no longer on anyway. With regard to the Ukraine war, the State Ministry in Baden-Württemberg pointed out that lighting had been reduced as much as possible since the summer – as a contribution to saving energy. In Munich, too, many landmarks have not been illuminated since July 2022.

An hour for the world

The countries in the Asia-Pacific region gave the go-ahead for the “Earth Hour”. In New Zealand, for example, the Sky Tower and the parliament building in the capital Wellington remained in the dark. The world-famous Harbor Bridge and the Opera House followed a little later in the Australian metropolis of Sydney. In Malaysia, the lights went out at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. And in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, five iconic structures also went black, including the country’s national shrine, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Most recently, the lights were also switched off on the American continent this year: In Toronto, Canada, the CN Tower went dark, in neighboring USA, the Empire State Building in New York, the Space Needle in Seattle and the Willis Tower in Chicago were temporarily unlit. In Los Angeles, the lights of the solar-powered Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica pier stayed off.

Russia does not participate

Russia was not there this year. The lights on public buildings there stayed on. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov justified this by saying that the initiator WWF was on Russia’s list of “foreign agents”.

The controversial law behind this list serves to stigmatize people, media and non-governmental organizations in Russia who do not follow the line. On the other hand, Russia had taken part in earlier “Earth Hour” campaigns since 2013 and, for example, switched off the facade lighting on the Kremlin.

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