If you’re traveling on Saturday, get ready for a blackout.
On Saturday night (March 28), more than 2,000 cities on our happy little blue planet will turn their lights off for an hour in an effort to fight global warming. Familiar monuments like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Great Pyramids of Giza, and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, among many others will all cut power in order to draw attention to climate change and global warming.
Organized by the World Wildlife Fund, and supported by politicians, world leaders, celebrities, and other influential personalities, the hour-long electric turn-off will occur from 8:30-9:30 p.m. local time, starting in Fiji and making its way through time zones around the globe.
This is the third year the blackout has been attempted: Two years ago, Sydney, Australia started the trend when 2.2 million people flicked their light switches. Last year, 400 other cities jumped on board to help promote ‘Earth Hour.’
Airports are joining in the cause, too. Safety lights on runways and towers won’t be affected, but decorative lights, extra interior lights, and moving walkways will all dim in the name of the environment. If you’re on a flight to Los Angeles, don’t expect to see the familiar LAX pylon glittering at your arrival. While the iconic three letters will boast a shade of green for an hour before the power-down, it will completely shut off as the time approaches.
If you’re planning to travel to New York that night, you’ll witness dimmed theaters, a dark Rockefeller Center, and a lightless Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, and United Nations Headquarters. Boston will shut down its legendary CITGO sign near Fenway Park, and stop power to the Prudential Center and the John Hancock Tower. The Acropolis in Athens, the London Eye, The Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame are among others who will turn their lights out for one hour.
One of the most surprising — and likely shocking — lights-off moments will take place in Las Vegas, when the famous Vegas Strip goes dark. More than 5,000 green glow-in-the-dark necklaces will be handed out, and the casino lights that adorn the outside of the buildings will be turned off. (Don’t panic, the interior lights and slot machines will continue to run). However, the strip’s iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign will be powered off. Need more details on what’s out, and what’s lit? MSNBC contributor Harriet Baskas has the details.
Reduce your carbon footprint in your own way — where you are on Saturday night, turn out the lights at 8:30 p.m. Who knows… you might spark a little something in the dark…
© Cheapflights Ltd Andrea Mooney
