Don't be surprised if the streets around you go dark for an hour at 8.30pm (local time) on Saturday, March 28th. It isn't a power outage, just people trying to save the Earth - one light bulb at a time!

The idea, which originated in Sydney, Australia in 2007, was started to demonstrate how little it takes, to help curb the effects of global warming. 2.3 million families and 2,100 businesses and landmarks, including the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor, participated in the 2007 Earth Hour.

This simple act resulted in cutting back 10% of the city's electricity consumption for one hour - the equivalent of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by 48,000 cars on the road in an hour.

In 2008, the movement spread all across the world, with over 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Colloseum in Rome, the Opera House in Sydney and the Coca Cola Billboard in New York's Time Square also stood dark for an hour.

This year, the organizers are hoping to enroll over one billion people to join the movement. So far, 1,189 cities have signed up as have famous landmarks like the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids in Egypt, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Empire State Building in New York, as well as, the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

Be sure to do your part this Saturday - Have a candlelight dinner or better still, enlist your family, friends and neighbors, by organizing a candlelight block party! Remember we can all make a big difference with really small actions - as is demonstrated by the elementary school children in the second video. For more information or to sign up for the event, go to www.earthhour.org.

Source:earthhour.org