As millions prepared to embrace darkness for a cause during the Earth Hour Saturday evening, experts were cynical on electricity saving in real terms and are of the opinion that carbon emissions could actually increase.
Even if all the people switch off lights for the hour, “the fall in electricity use for such a short period is unlikely to result in less energy being pumped into the grid, and will therefore not reduce emissions”, experts were quoted by the UK Telegraph.
“Even if power stations are turned off, the upsurge in turning the lights back on one hour later will require power stations that can fire up quickly like oil and coal. Energy experts said it could therefore result in an increase in carbon emissions ‘rendering all good intentions useless at a flick of a switch,” the report added.
Earth Hour is organised by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The mission of this organisation is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.
People from across the world would switch off lights between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm local time on Saturday to observe Earth Hour and save energy.
In the Earth Hour 2010, WWF intends to set a new record in saving energy. Campaigns online and otherwise are on all over the world, to have more people participate this time.
Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for an hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating.
Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.
In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4,000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.