World dims for Earth Hour

BONN, Germany | From an Antarctic research base to the Great Pyramids of Egypt to the Empire State Building in New York, the world switched off the lights Saturday for the second Earth Hour, dimming skyscrapers, city streets and some of the world’s most recognizable monuments for 60 minutes to highlight what is seen as the threat of climate change.

Time zone by time zone, nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries joined the event, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, to dim nonessential lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

An agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, is supposed to be reached in Copenhagen this December, and environmentalists’ sense of urgency has spurred interest in this year’s Earth Hour. The campaign began in Australia in 2007 and last year grew to 400 cities worldwide.

Organizers initially worried that enthusiasm this year would wane with the world focused on the global economic crisis, Earth Hour Executive Director Andy Ridley said. But he said it apparently had the opposite effect.

The Chatham Islands, a small chain about 500 miles east of New Zealand, switched off diesel generators to officially begin Earth Hour. Soon after, the lights of Auckland’s Sky Tower, the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand, blinked off.

And in Egypt, the Great Pyramids darkened, as did the Sphinx.

In Europe, Paris darkened more than 200 monuments and buildings, including the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral. The Eiffel Tower extinguished its lights for only five minutes, for security reasons, because visitors were on the tower, said WWF France spokesman Pierre Chasseray. But a nightly sparkling lights feature was canceled.

More than 200 buildings pledged to flip the switch in Chicago, one of Earth Hour’s 10 flagship U.S. cities. The shops along the city’s Magnificent Mile were all set to go dark, along with the ivy-covered marquee at the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field.

In San Francisco, lights on landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge were set to be turned off, along with the city’s well-known Ghirardelli Square sign. Officials decided to turn down the Las Vegas Strip’s glitz by extinguishing the marquees and decorative lighting outside casinos, as well as the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.

The honkytonks in Nashville were set to darken as country music stars Jo Dee Messina and “Big” Kenny Alphin of the duo Big & Rich entertained a crowd with a free concert.

China participated for the first time, cutting the lights at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium and Water Cube, the most prominent 2008 Olympic venues.

Earth Hour 2009 also has garnered support from global corporations. McDonald’s Corp. planned to dim its arches at 500 locations around the U.S. Midwest. The Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont hotel chains and Coca-Cola Co. also planned to participate.