- Title: VARIOUS: Egypt and Europe mark global Earth Hour by switching off illuminations
- Date: 28th March 2010
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (MARCH 27, 2010) (REUTERS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) VARIOUS OF TWO FEMALE TOURISTS FROM COLOMBIA HOLDING WWF LANTERN BERLIN CITY OFFICIAL, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER KATRIN LOMPSCHER AND KOLMAR COUNTING DOWN TO 8:30 P.M., LIGHTS ON BRANDENBURG GATE GOING OUT APPLAUSE (SOUNDBITE) (German) PASSERBY, PAUL KLOES (ASKED WHETHER THE EVENT COULD ACHIEVE ANYTHING) SAYING: "Maybe symbolically. But I think they should have shut down the whole city for five minutes so that people can't watch television at home and see what it's really like (without lights)." PERSON DRESSED AS PANDA BEAR IN CROWD WIDE OF DARK BRANDENBURG GATE
- Embargoed: 12th April 2010 13:00
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- Topics: Environment / Natural World,Energy
- Reuters ID: LVA9UMSL1VASBT9WKUBK312NL33Y
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- Story Text: Lights are turned off in Europe and North Africa as part of this year's global Earth Hour, WWF's international climate initiative to encourage people all over the world to save energy as part of the fight against global warming.
Lights illuminating the Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza were turned off for one hour on Saturday (March 27) as part of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature's Earth Hour initiative to "send a strong message to the governments of this world" to advance climate protection.
Canadian tourist Steve Ashpy who watched the event at the Pyramids said global warming affects the whole world. "This day is important, and this hour is important, because it is a symbolic about what we need to do, we need to take an action, and this is about taking an action," he said.
Young Bin Ashpy said: "I think it is really great, how people would do this, and have the Earth Hour, so we can save energy and encourage that."
Lights on the Acropolis in Athens, the Eiffel Tower and the Elysee Palace in Paris and Big Ben clocktower in London were switched off, plunging the world famous landmarks into darkness.
At 2030 local (1930 GMT), a Berlin city government official and the head of communications for World Wide Fund for Nature Germany together pushed a symbolic light switch which put the Brandenburg Gate, one of Berlin's main tourist attractions, into darkness.
Passerby Paul Kloes said the event could at best achieve something "symbolically".
"I think they should have shut down the whole city for five minutes so that people can't watch television at home and see what it's really like (without lights)," he said.
World Wildlife Fund for Nature says the initiative makes an impact because it shows leaders how many people support energy saving.
The symbolic one-hour switch-off, first held in Sydney in 2007, has become an annual global event and organisers World Wide Fund for Nature said they expect this year's to be the biggest so far. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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