Redlands City Council events for Earth Hour

Redlands City Council has proven leadership in overall energy reductions in regions across Australia, with one of the highest reductions in South East Queensland of dropping 14%. Redlands City Council are also showing their dedication to their environmental priorities by hosting a variety of activities surrounding their participation in Earth Hour 2009.

To encourage greater implementation of energy sustainability practices within households, 'Energy Sustainability in your Home' workshops are being conducted by Trevor Berrill, who is a Sustainable Energy Consultant and Educator. These workshops are being held surrounding the dates of Earth Hour 2009 on March 28th.

Through participating in Earth Hour 2009, Redland City Council are demonstrating to their community how technical solutions can be incorporated, as well as providing a greater variety of choices for residents to base their decisions and daily practices in reducing household energy consumption.

A variety of activities to engage the community such as the Earth Hour Community Dinner at IndigiScapes and the Canapes by Candlelight at Hogan's Wellington Point are also hosted by the Redlands City Council. This can be viewed on their website at redland.qld.gov.au.

Sunshine State in darkness for Earth Hour

Queensland businesses and households will be encouraged to switch off their lights for WWF's Earth Hour 2009 as part of an international effort to send a strong message on climate change to world leaders.

Lights will go out on Parliament House, Southbank and other famous Queensland landmarks for one hour from 8.30pm to 9.30pm local time on Saturday March 28 next year.

Sydney shows the way on WWF's Earth Hour 2009

Sydney will lead more than one thousand cities into Earth Hour 2009 as WWF sets its sights on reaching 1 billion people around the world.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007 when approximately 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses took part. The Australian initiative is now a truly global effort to focus attention on the threat of climate change, with people in 62 countries already signing up to switch off their lights for one hour from 8.30pm on Saturday March 28, 2009.

The iconic Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge will be among the first internationally recognised landmarks to go dark.

WWF-Australia CEO Greg Bourne said Earth Hour 2009 will target world leaders attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next December, encouraging them to strike a new global deal on climate change.

"By switching off lights and non-essential power between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on March 28, people the world over will be showing the world's leaders the public strongly supports decisive action.

"The event will provide a strong visual mandate, a vote from people around the world to say 'we must deal with climate change,' a vote which we hope to channel to the world's leaders at the Copenhagen conference."

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the Federal Government would again be an enthusiastic participant in Earth Hour.

"It's great to have the opportunity to be involved in this fantastic event again. It shows there are simple and practical options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"Last year, over 97 per cent of Federal Government departments registered and participated in Earth Hour; this was a really good result and one we hope to build on."

Earth Hour 2009 Ambassador Jamie Durie urged all Australians to be part of the event and send a statement to world leaders.

"Earth Hour is your best opportunity to be part of a mass movement and show world leaders we expect Copenhagen to deliver real progress on climate change."

Cities confirmed to participate in Earth Hour 2009 include Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London, Rome, Manila, Mexico City, Vancouver, Dubai, Copenhagen, Oslo, Hong Kong, Cape Town and many other major cities around the world, as well as all of Australia's capital cities.

Global Director of Earth Hour Andy Ridley said 2009 was the planet's 'destiny year', with critical decisions to be made in Copenhagen on reducing greenhouse emissions.

"2009 is the year we decide the future of the earth. It is the year the world finally agrees on a plan to massively reduce carbon emissions across the globe. This is the time to invest in new ways of doing business in a new low carbon economy. We must all step over the line together. The sum of our actions today can change history and secure the future of our planet."