Cross your fingers for clear skies on Saturday so Seattleites can take full advantage of Earth Hour.
The worldwide event has enlisted millions of people, organizations and governments to turn off their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday in the name of climate change.
You can join the effort by simply flipping off the lights and enjoying, say, taking a walk out to Maple View Park to see if a few more stars are twinkling in the night sky. Or what about a candlelight dinner?
If you head downtown, don’t expect Seattle’s namesake landmarks to be lit up, with both the Space Needle and the Pike Place Market sign scheduled to go dark for the hour.
And in Olympia, Gov. Chris Gregoire is turning off the lights at the Capitol, and is expected to proclaim the 8:30-9:30 p.m. time slot Earth Hour for the entire state.
She is joining 27 states that officially are participating in the event, which is nearly four times as many as last year. More than 100 countries around the globe also are participating.
Other national landmarks that will go dark Saturday evening include the Las Vegas Strip, Mt. Rushmore, Niagara Falls, the National Cathedral and Smithsonian Castle in Washington D.C., the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, the Sears/Willis Tower and the Pacific Park/Santa Monica Pier.
Globally, the CN Tower in Toronto, the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Forbidden City in Beijing, Trevi Fountain in Italy, Table Mountain in Cape Town, the London Eye, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Taipei 101 also will go dark.
Will you take part in Earth Hour and turn off your lights for the hour?
I will turn ALL my lights on and leave my truck running for Earth Hour! After hearing that Al Gore's HUGE home didn't turn a single light off a few years back, I will never believe a word of this crap! He flies around on private jets & tells others not to! How can someone respect a single thing he says?
I am not for pollution, just more sane, safe ways to generate power without harming the planet. We can do this and still live in a free society that we are not told how to live. America use to be innovative, we can solve this problem. By just telling people to stop using power, it just stops our thought process. Wake up America, we can be great again & have big tv's without guilt from guys that don't even live by their own rules!
Have a great one,
Matthew