Earth Hour

Dear Editor, This week many homes around Ireland will be taking part in Earth Hour and it is hoped that many homes in Westmeath might take part as well.Cutting back on energy use in these economic times focuses on our consumption and how much we rely or over rely on its use.It also focuses us on the fact that we could produce and export so much of our own energy going forward in terms of wind, wave, solar etc. Ireland has been seen as a nation with great capacity for alternative energy development and as Barack Obama has shown in America it creates a massive amount of employment.Earth Hour is a global climate change initiative.  Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour this Saturday March 28, 2009 at 8:30 PM to show their support for action on climate change.  The event began in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the globe participated. In 2009, Earth Hour aimed to reach out to 1 billion people in 1,000 cities. They already have over 1500 cities taking part. Friends of the Irish Environment coordinated Ireland"s first Earth Hour last year and EirGrid reported reductions of 50 megawatts - enough electricity to power 32,500 homes.UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged citizens around the world to join WWF"s Earth Hour to demand action on climate change. He said that it promises to be 'the largest demonstration of public concern about climate change ever attempted, Earth Hour is a way for the citizens of the world to send a clear message.  They want action on climate change.'Secretary-General Ban went on to underline the seriousness of climate change and the scale of the task ahead. 'We are on a dangerous path.  Our planet is warming. We must change our ways,' he said. 'We need green growth that benefits all communities. We need sustainable energy for a more climate-friendly, prosperous world. This is the path of the future.  We must walk it together.'Earth Hour is being hailed as the biggest ever global movement - a vote for the future of planet Earth. Hundreds of millions of people are expected to take part by switching off non-essential lighting for an hour. Cities from Las Vegas to Sydney, from Cape Town to Beijing will go dark for an hour.Secretary Ban said that the United Nations would be doing its bit for Earth Hour. 'In New York, we will switch out the lights at UN Headquarters. Other UN facilities around the world will also take part. ..I urge citizens everywhere to join us. Please send a strong message on climate change. Together we can find a solution to this most serious of global challenges.'We all know that climate change affects the people of the developing world at a far greater rate than ourselves even though they do little to cause it. Saturday is our way of saying we will do our bit in some small way to let the world know we are part of the solution.Sincerely,Denis Leonard'Midlands Green' Environment Radio Programme