From Greenrock: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on March 20th urged citizens around the world to join WWF's Earth Hour to demand action on climate change. “Earth Hour is a way for
the citizens of the world to send a clear message. They want action on climate change.” said Secretary-General Ban.

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.”

WWF's 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.

Andy Ridley, Executive Director, Earth Hour Global said, “Earth Hour has been embraced by more than 2,000 cities and towns in more than 90 countries around the world. The greatest thing about Earth Hour this year is the diversity of support. Earth Hour has now been translated into nearly 30 languages; we have mountain climbers in Nepal, field staff working on pandas in Chengdu, a cinema in the middle of the Amazon, a World Cup winning footballer turning lights off in Italy along with of course some of the most iconic buildings around the world taking part.

We have 9/10 of the world's most populated cities officially signed on, 54 National capitals signed up, major EH activity happening in all G20 territories with 17 of the G20 with official EH cities.

“EH is not about the amount of power we save in that one hour on March 28th, its more about engaging individual participation in a movement that will make a difference to global climate change ”, states Andrew Vaucrosson, President of Greenrock. “Over the last several months leading up to EH, Greenrock has been working with Bermuda Government, Hamilton, St. George’s, BELCO and several community groups and various local NGO’s in discussing ways that we can make better lifestyle choices especially in the area of energy conservation.”

“At this point, we are asking for those who are participating to go onto our website – www.greenrock.org – and register your activities on our EH Bermuda website. Participate in our simple 10 questions survey called Your View; look at all the things you can do at home or in your office under out Take Action section; post comments, images or photos on our Share Earth Hour section; or take the time and send an email to
friends, family or co-workers using our Tell A Friend tool. Now is the time to record your participation and make your vote for EH count.”

Charles Brown, Director of Sustainable Development, Government of Bermuda said, “Earth Hour is an important symbolic event that the Sustainable Development Unit is pleased to partner with Greenrock on. It is our hope that Earth Hour will represent the beginning of a sustained effort by Bermuda’s residents to reduce their consumption of fuel in all forms. Let Earth Hour be a catalyst for raising our awareness and consciousness about reducing the amount of electricity that we are using at home and at work. This initiative is consistent with our commitment to sustainable development and is also aligned with the recently released Green Paper on Energy.”

Minister of the Environment & Sports Glenn Blakeney said, "Scientists have made the case that shifts in climate in the past have shaped human destiny. Until now, humans responded by adapting to the changes and migrating if necessary. Now our success as a species may have backed us into a corner. The world’s population has grown to the point where we have less room for large-scale migration should it be necessitated by a major climate shift. So for Earth Hour 2009, I hope that you will participate not only for the hour, but commit to change your behaviour forever, so that we can avoid the devastating consequences we have been warned about and save our precious island home."

Acting Premier El James agreed, "The marching orders are simple. Turn off the lights in your home between 8:30 and 9:30 on Saturday night. You should unplug non-essential appliances as well. Light a few candles if you need to brighten a room to read a book or play board games with the kids. It is the perfect opportunity to do something you wouldn’t ordinarily do on a Saturday evening.

"Earth Hour is merely a snap shot in the big picture fight against global warming, but we hope everyone will recognize it as a powerful event. A commitment to Earth Hour will prove just how strong we can be in our effort to fight climate change if we all work together."

The PLP Government strong encourages all Bermudians to participate.