CEBU City - The Department of Energy (DOE) called on all power consumers to participate in the Earth Hour 2010, and turn off their lights from 8:30-9:30 p.m. on March 27.

Lou Arciaga, DOE science and research specialist and public information officer-designate, said Earth Hour 2010 is a global call for action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world.

She said Earth Hour has achieved a lot to raise awareness of climate change issues.

“There’s more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It’s all about giving people a voice in the future of our planet and working together to crate a sustainable low carbon future,” Arciaga said.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for an hour to make their stand against climate change.

In 2008, it had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating.

In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4,000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

DOE Secretary Angelo Reyes, Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan of the World Wide Fund-Philippines, Ambassador Francis Chua of Green Army Philippines network foundation and Catherine Maceda of SWITCH Group will spearhead this year’s Earth Hour in the Philippines.(PNA)