Will You Turn Your Lights Out for Earth Hour Tonight?

As part of a global call for action on climate change, hundreds of millions of people and tens of thousands of organizations will go dark for one hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 31.

Earth Hour is a global World Wildlife Fund initiative that began in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people all over the world took part in the action. In 2009 almost 1 billion people worldwide switched off their lights and in 2011, Earth Hour involved 135 countries with more than 1.8 billion people participating.

Last year, ; no word yet this year that the county plans to participate.

According to organizers, hundreds of landmarks across more than 5,000 cities and towns will go dark at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday local time, with Libya, Algeria, Bhutan and French Guinea among those participating for the first time.

This year, Earth Hour launched the I Will If You Will campaign to incentivize sustainable action beyond the hour. Thousands of individuals, organizations and governments have created an I Will If You Will challenge, inspiring their friends, colleagues and networks to be a part of their action towards a more sustainable world.

“Each and every one us play an important role in making a difference to the world we live in,” said Earth Hour Co-Founder and Executive Director, Andy Ridley.