Earth Hour - a Success?

Participating in Earth Hour has sparked some conversations recently with family and friends as we discussed the purpose of the event. The goal of the event was the get 1 billion people to participate by turning out their lights in an effort to send a message about global warming. Here is an article about Earth Hour 2009, as well as some photos of Earth Hour around the world.

Update: View photos from the event

So, what exactly is this suppose to accomplish?

Well, for one thing, events like Earth Hour give people around the world a way to band together and rally around action on global warming. For another, this year will be a big year for amendments to the Kyoto Protocol. Earth Hour serves as a super creative way to tell our international leaders they have global support. It helps give them 'political cover' for a more stringent agreement. Regardless of your thoughts about the effectiveness of the United Nations, it does provide an arena for international governance. Making big change starts with vision and leadership, and is carried out through policy change and action.

If you are curious about what exactly will be happening with the Kyoto Protocol, Here is the website for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. If you take a look at the agenda, you'll see a whole host of topics they are addressing including greenhouse gas emissions, land use, emission trading, potential impacts of sustainability, etc.

It was fun to participate in the Earth Hour event and know I was just one of hundreds of millions of people making a statement. I hope you participated, but if not, consider participating in an Earth Day event in your area.