Online Photos Recreate a Virtual Earth Hour 2009
Results from Voluntary Hour of Darkness make a Vivid Display
Apr 27, 2009
The pictures of world landmarks and monuments are spectacular. Centuries-old manmade wonders like the Houses of Parliament spread along the Thames in London are interspersed with breathtaking new interpretations of architecture such as the perfect sphere of Sweden's Ericsson Globe Arena. Lit up against the night sky, they fill a computer screen.
With a click of the computer's mouse an individual can make the lights go off on these monuments and observe the dark shapes that remain as silhouettes against Mother Nature's backdrop. These images -- and the opportunity to play with them – are provided at the Big Picture blog, maintained by Alan Taylor for the Boston Globe/boston.com; they tell the story, and show some of the results of the second annual Earth Hour, held in March, 2009.
The Big Picture Blog Demonstrates the Effects of Earth Hour
Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour is a global demonstration of energy conservation; the organizers want participants to see the link between energy consumption with greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. This demonstration took the form of a rolling wave of voluntary darkness from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. as that hour proceeded westward across the globe on March 28.
This "virtual" Earth Hour at the Big Picture shows the wave's affect on global icons, picturing:
- The shiny towers of Shanghai lighting up the sky like brilliant torches reflected in the Huangpu river in China.
- The distinctive architecture of the Sydney Opera House with the vaunted interlocking shells of its roofline glowing at the edge of the harbor.
- Lights shining out of each one of the many-tiered arches of the ancient Colosseum in Rome.
- The even more ancient Parthenon serving as a massive beacon on the Acropolis over Athens.
- The modern banking temples in Hong Kong's financial district reaching for the sky, literally, in intricate patterns of electricity.
- And a dozen more examples.
As each monument or landmark goes dark, other features of the manmade and natural landscape become more prominent; and a ghostly outline is all that can be seen of the landmark.
This pictorial demonstration of Earth Hour is also a powerful reminder of the basic conflicts involved in addressing issues of global climate change – humanity's impulse to celebrate and memorialize achievements of the past and present versus its need to conserve the earth's resources for the future.
Multitudes Have Embraced the Symbolic Message of Earth Hour
Even so, according the WWF estimates, hundreds of thousands of earthlings acted in unison to voluntarily cut their electric use for one hour. They also note that the concept of Earth Hour, which began as a single-city effort in Sydney, Australia in 2007, has grown by great leaps. Over 400 cities signed on to participate when WWF became the global sponsor in 2008, and this year's event boasts participation by over 4000 cities and towns in 88 countries.
It is not the actual energy savings that is the goal of this symbolic gesture of Earth Hour, but the symbolism itself, Carter Roberts, the U. S. President of WWF, told Time Magazine, noting that, "history is littered with symbolic acts that became tipping points."
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