Earth Hour's posterous blog is no more. Our website has been completely revamped and will now host our official blog page.

We have some special new guest posters, plus ongoing content from our online ambassadors that have been featured here over the past year. 

Check it out at www.earthhour.org/blog

It sounds a bit like Virtual Insanity: your mobile phone's Second Life… But actually, you can easily find some horror elements related to this subject which unfortunately are not too well known to the public at large.

First let me check this with you readers out there: Do you remember your first mobile phone? A look-a-like of the phone Don Johnson had in Miami Vice? Or the one MacGyver used for disarming that bomb? Or that really really old Nokia phone, that didn't quite fit into your pocket, and was the major cause of hernia around the globe...

Now I’m asking you to be honest, how many old mobile phones are lying around in your house, not being used at all? The type of phone that has been classified ‘a spare phone’ - for about 4 years now…

Allow me to give you a few little pieces of (trivial) information…

Worldwide, billions of mobile phones are in use (last estimate: around 4.5 billion active phone users). Developing areas such as Africa, Latin America and Asia have already long passed developed countries when looking at the number of mobile phone subscribers. It’s an explosive growth that seems to keep on going, which is great for my organization - Text to Change (TTC) – which uses mobile phone technology in developing countries to improve people’s lives. In order to encourage behavioral change, we use text messaging (SMS); a way to communicate that hardly existed in Africa 8 years ago, but is now by far the best way to get in touch. And so, thanks to the world’s incredibly rapid adaptation to that little piece of technology that even your grandparents use nowadays, TTC can gratefully use a highly effective communication channel for health education, encouraging testing and drug compliance.

What we definitely need to understand, is that there is another side to this explosive growth of mobile phones and other gadgets worldwide. First, let me fill you in on the bad news. Mother Nature was playing quite a devious game when it decided where to put its treasures: metals such as gold, silver, copper - but also the less familiar ones that are essential to almost all electronic goods: coltan, palladium, platinum, etc – can mainly be found countries that suffer from dictators, (civil) wars and lawlessness. You won’t be surprised that this political situation is preventing fair distribution of the wealth that could potentially come from digging up these precious elements (to say it nicely).

The good news is that part of the solution is quite simple and beneficial for just about everyone in the cycle. The thing that should be done more and more, is to understand that there actually is no such thing as an electronic product that we should throw away, also called e-waste (yes; there is a term for everything…). Why? Because of the opportunities of reuse, and if all else fails; recycling.

Josette de Vroeg

We have worked together with a company in the Netherlands, called zwipit, which focuses solely on reuse & recycling. They buy (yes: they pay money!) your redundant phone, upgrade it and then make sure it is used again. Just think about what this means: about 100 million phones are considered redundant in Europe alone, every year! How many of them are reused / recycled at the moment? Less than 8%!! My guess is that this is mainly due to the fact that most people don’t know about this, so spread the word!

Claudia Bahamón opens up:

On her environmental awareness and being named the Latin American ambassador to Earth Hour

TV Presenter Claudia Bahamón has appeared on the cover of famous Colombian fashion magazine Fucsia. 

In the feature, Claudia talks about throwing an environmentally friendly birthday party for her son Samuel, as well as a lunch with the Earth Hour global team at an organic Argentinean restaurant in Los Angeles. She discussed her involvement with Earth Hour and the environmental issues facing South America, with our co-founder Andy Ridley.

Earth Hour blogger and author Lindsay E. Brown organised an impromptu fun get together in New York City’s famous Central Park last year to share thoughts on moving the planet forward. Lindsay has a new book that will be coming out shortly.

A Look Back and A Look Forward

Leading up to 350.org's Climate Change Day last year, I was shocked when I noticed that there weren't any "work parties" in Central Park, one of New York's City's historic landmarks. I double-checked just to be sure, but nothing in NYC's treasured park.

So, I decided I'd do something about it. I created one myself, even if it would just be me rallying. The night prior, I spent about four hours creating posters, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

My boyfriend joined me that morning, thankfully, so at least I had one other person. As we walked swiftly down Columbus Avenue, my arms were filled with signs and my heart filled with nervous energy. What if no one came? Would my event be a failure? Would Central Park runners heckle me and laugh in my face? I should've worked harder to promote it.  Admittedly, these thoughts overwhelmed me.

But sure enough, just a few minutes before 10 a.m., a few people began approaching, asking me if I was "Lindsay." And then a few more came, and a few more. I was so happy people wanted to come, tears filled my eyes.

Luckily, I brought plenty of signs to pass around, and without hesitation, my new cheerful friends began proudly holding up their signs, and speaking to Central Park's passersby about climate change.

I stood back for a moment and took in the scene.  Only moments earlier, we were complete strangers. Now, we were fast friends, holding signs in the air against a picturesque fall backdrop in one of the loveliest parks in the world.

I felt so proud of us all in that moment, and so happy that so many others throughout the world felt the same way that we did -- driven to spur change, in their own ways.

I hope you'll find an event in your community, and get your friends and family in on the fun, too! And if you can't find an event near you, create your very own. Don't worry about how many people go.  If you organize it, they will come.

@LindsEBrown

Me llama la atención gratamente cómo dos actores de mi país, Norida Rodríguez y Toto Vega, son los que se han puesto al frente de uno de los maravillosos eventos que en Latinoamérica se realizan para hacerle saber a la humanidad de la importancia del cuidado de nuestro planeta, FESTIVER (Festival de Cine Verde de Barichara). Es un evento inspirador. Se celebrará del 20 al 24 de septiembre de 2011. Ambientalistas y cineastas le mostrarán al mundo la realidad de nuestro planeta y, por consiguiente, invitan a reflexionar sobre la importancia del cuidado y preservación de los recursos naturales y de los ecosistemas.

Pero ademas de cine, que habrá y mucho, ...“FESTIVER contará con más de 30 proyecciones de películas medioambientales al aire libre y en recinto cerrado, con una muestra de 23 trabajos audiovisuales en competencia en cinco categorías y además con: 4 talleres, 2 foros, 4 cineforos en las veredas, 12 conferencias, espectáculos, 1 mercado verde, muestras de arte e invitados nacionales e internacionales, siendo toda la programación de entrada libre y gratuita”.

Y es que los documentales ‘verdes’ en el mundo entero se han puesto de moda. La lista de los que han dado que hablar es extensa.

Podemos empezar por Baraka (1992). Ron Fricke viajó a 24 países para construir un relato contemplativo, emotivo y exquisito sobre la diversidad: la naturaleza y el hombre retratados en un caleidoscopio de imágenes y espacios. La Tierra como único espacio habitable posible. Como tesoro perecedero que necesita ser cuidado es el alerta que este realizador lanzó poco más de una década atrás. 

También está Super Size Me (2004) de Morgan Spurlock, film que le muestra a los espectadores los efectos que tiene este estilo de vida “McDonald's” en la salud física y psicológica.

Darwin’s Nightmare (2005). En los años 60 la perca del Nilo se introdujo como especie en el lago Victoria. Este pez arrasó con los restantes, para multiplicarse sin control y convertirse en moneda de cambio que los hombres de allí usan para la guerra civil. En documental de Hubert Sauper muestra los efectos sociales y medioambientales de la industria pesquera en Tanzania. 

An Inconvenient Truth (2006). El documental de David Guggenheim no sólo ganó el Oscar en su categoría, sino catapultó a Al Gore al Premio Nobel. El calentamiento de la Tierra es el tema central de este film, un fenómeno global que se alza como espada de Damocles o bomba de tiempo contra todos los seres vivos que habitan el planeta.

La marche de l'empereur (2006). Ganadora del Oscar como Mejor documental, este film firmado por el francés Luc Jaquet narra la epopeya del pingüino emperador desde la Antártida a las aguas más cálidas del Ecuador. Esta ave lucha por sobrevivir en un planeta que cambia a gran velocidad, aunque el ser humano no lo note.

The 11th Hour (2007). Leonardo DiCaprio le toma la idea de Al Gore y apoya a las documentalistas Nadia Conners y Leila Conners Petersen en esta lucha por fijar la mirada del mundo en la necesidad de recuperar y restaurar los ecosistemas en riesgo. El equilibrio entre hombre y naturaleza se ha roto.

Encounters at the End of the World (2007). La más reciente mirada del gran Werner Herzog a la naturaleza. Se explora la Tierra del Fuego y la Antártida. Escudriña ese mundo de inmensa soledad en el que miles de hombres y mujeres viven juntos en la Antártida en cuartos que nadie pensaría que existiesen, arriesgando sus vidas y salud en busca de avances científicos.

Earth (2007). posiblemente uno de los mejores documentales realizados sobre nuestro planeta tierra. Un viaje inolvidable a través de las distintas estaciones y de la lucha diaria por la supervivencia en nuestro planeta.

The Garden (2008). Convertir un terreno baldío en un jardín que permite la sustentabilidad de una comunidad, que humaniza un espacio urbano al punto de dejar crecer una semilla, se transformó en una lucha civil y legal en Los Ángeles.

At the edge of the world (2008). El director estadounidense Dan Stone sigue a los ambientalistas de la organización Sea Sheperd quienes se han convertido en defensores de las ballenas y las focas, dos especies acosadas por cazadores que van en busca de los preciados tesoros que guardan estas especies. El cuestionamiento de esta práctica es directo contra las autoridades.

Food Inc. (2008). Este documental habla de la producción industrial de carne, de grano y verduras, , a la cual llama inhumana y económica y ambientalmente insostenible. Y como si fuera poco, sobre el poder económico y legal de las grandes compañías de producción de alimentos, y de la promoción de hábitos de consumo de comida insalubre hacia el público en USA.

Vale la pena revisar la lista de de EXHIBICIÓN EN COMPETENCIA FESTIVER 2011 “para que los ojos bien abiertos vean”. Ojalá que Santander y su festival tengan mucho éxito. Definitivamente es inspirador.

Aunque sea un cliché: Una imagen vale más que mil palabras. 

“Es vergonzoso que se use el verde como bandera sin ningún propósito social ni ambiental real que sensibilice, concientice o eduque a la comunidad”. Festiver 

Desde Los Angeles, CA. todo mi apoyo.

@claudiabahamon

English Translation:

I'm really happy that two actors from my country, Norida Rodriguez and Toto Vega, have been put in charge of one of the wonderful events in Latin America promoting the importance of caring for out planet - FESTIVER (Green Film Festival Barichara). It is an inspirational event that will take place from the 20th-24th of September, 2011 Enviornmentalists and filmmakers will show the world the reality of our planet, and therefore invite reflection on the importance of protecting and preserving natural resources and ecosystems.

And there will be much more than just film... "FESTIVER will feature more than  30 indoor and outdoor film screenings, with a five category competition featuring 23 audiovisual works, as well as 4 workshops, 2 forums, 4 film forums on the sidewalks, 12 lectures, performances, a green market, art exhibitions and national and international guests - and all for free admission. "

Green documentaries have become fashionable, and there's an extensive list of films that have made people stand up and take notice.

We can start with Baraka (1992). Ron Fricke travels to 24 countries to build a contemplative, emotive and exquisite story of diversity: nature and man are portrayed in a kaleidoscope of imagery and spaces. The Earth is the only possible living space. Just over a decade ago, the filmmaker launched the warning that earth is a vulnerable treasure that needs care.

Also, there's Morgan Spurlock's  Super Size Me (2004), a film that shows viewers the effects of a "McDonald's" way of life on physical and mental health.

Darwin's Nightmare (2005). In the 60s, the Nile perch species was introduced in Lake Victoria. It wiped out the remaining fish, multiplied uncontrollably and became the currency for the men in the civil war. A documentary from Hubert Sauper that shows the social and environmental effects of the fishing industry in Tanzania.

An Inconvenient Truth (2006). David Guggenheim's documentary is not only an Oscar winner, it also catapulted Al Gore to the Nobel Prize. The warming of the earth is the central them of the film, a global phenomenon that rises like the Sword of Damocles or a time bomb for all living beings that inhabit the planet.

The March of the Penguins (2006). Oscar winner for Best Documentary, Frenchman Luc Jacquet's film tells of the epic journey of the emperor penguin from Antarctica to the warmer waters of Ecuador. This bird fights for survival in a rapidly changing world, while humans don't notice.

The 11th Hour (2007) Leonardo DiCaprio takes the Al Gore's idea and supports filmmakers Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Petersen on the world's struggle to recover and restore ecosystems at risk. The balance between man and nature has been broken.

Encounters at the End of World (2007). The latest look at nature from the great Werner Herzog. It explores the Terra del Fuego and Antarctica. Antarctica is a world of vast wilderness, where thousands of men and women live together in areas no one would think exist, risking their lives and health in search of scientific advances.

Earth (2007) Possibly one of the best documentaries on planet earth. A unforgettable journey through different seasons and the daily struggle for survival on our planet.

The Garden (2008). The conversion of a vacant lot into a sustainable community garden became a legal and civil strife in Los Angeles.

At the edge of the world (2008). The American director Dan Stone follows the environmental organization Sea Shepherd, who have become advocates for two hunted species - whales and seals. Questioning poachers often puts the organisation against authorities.

Food Inc. (2008). This documentary tells of the industrial production of meat, grain and vegetables; which he calls inhumane, and economically and environmentally unsustainable. And last but not least, the legal and economic power of large food production companies, and the promotion of unhealthy food habits to the public in the USA.

It is worth checking out the list of the 2011 competition exhibition "to open your eyes see." Hopefully, Santander and its festival will have every success. It is definitely inspiring.

Although it is a cliché: A picture is worth a thousand words.

"It is shameful to use green as the flag without any real social or environmental purpose to sensitize, raise awareness or educate the community." Festive

From Los Angeles, CA - my full support.

@claudiabahamon

Since I reported last on the Keystone XL Pipeline, 1,253 citizens were arrested in front of the White House between the August 20th - September 3rd sit-ins. These individuals non-violently protested against a pipeline that isn't just bad for Americans, but for the world. The individuals who risked arrest at the White House had your best interest at heart. That's right-- you, the civilians around the world  who will be affected by the construction and operation of the pipeline.

The Keystone XL pipeline cannot be built without a "presidential permit" from the Obama Administration. The State Department has said it will make a final decision on whether or not to issue a presidential permit deeming the pipeline in "national interest" by the end of this year.

The last time I checked doubling U.S. reliance on dirty tar sands fuel and contributing to a massive expansion of destruction of the Boreal Forest in Canada wasn't in our nation's or the world's best interest. And the last time I checked, polluting drinking water supplies in the U.S. heartland, and posing safety (and economic) risks from oil spills wasn't in anyone's best interest. Increasing dangerously high greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands extraction and undermining the many gains we've made in the United States through fuel efficiency standards and other means to reduce our dependence on oil and our contribution to climate change doesn't cut it either, Mr. President.

This pipeline isn't in anyone's best interest other than the oil industry's.

While the decision rests with President Obama, people all over the world are turning up the pressure on America's Commander in Chief to ensure that he rejects the dirty pipeline.

In a letter released yesterday, nine distinguished recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize have written to President Obama, urging him to reject the proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline, saying his decision offers "a critical moment" to make good on his pledge to create a clean energy economy.

"The night you were nominated for president, you told the world that under your leadership—and working together—the rise of the oceans will begin to slow and the planet will begin to heal. You spoke of creating a clean energy economy. This is a critical moment to make good on that pledge, and make a lasting contribution to the health and well being of everyone of this planet."

The nine Nobel Peace Prize laureates include: Mairead Maguire and Betty Williams of Ireland, who shared the prize in 1976, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel of Argentina (1980), Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa (1984), His Holiness the Dalai Lama (1989), Rigoberta Menchú Tum of Guatemala (1992), José Ramos-Horta of East Timor (1996), Jody Williams of the United States (1997), and Shirin Ebadi of Iran (2003).

Cornell University's Global Labor Institute just released a new fact sheet analyzing the latest economic data about Keystone XL, concluding that the project is far too risky to undertake in a fragile economic climate:

“The idea that Keystone XL is a “game changer” in terms of generating jobs and stimulating economic growth is a massive overstatement … However, building the Keystone XL pipeline represents a serious and long term commitment (valued at $14 billion) on the part of the U.S. to dirty fossil fuels—a commitment that will having a chilling effect on economic activity based on clean and renewable energy.”

Want to help stop this pipeline from being built?

Sign this petition. Anyone on this earth can help the efforts to reject  the requested permit for the Keystone XL pipeline!

Now the question remains: Will you help us?

 - Lindsay E. Brown

@LindsEBrown

This past June, Earth Hour Global organized an Instagram photo walk around the Sydney Eveleigh Organic Markets to encourage local iPhone photographers to re-imagine the modern sustainable city and share these visualisations with the global community.

After we promoted the walk through Facebook and Twitter (with the help of an established and popular Instagramer @nickwhite73), participants knew to tag their photos #sydearthhourpw and to upload them on Instagram. The walk was scheduled to coincide with the Farmers’ Markets, to give the photographers more stimuli to capture sustainable practices and ideas for Sydney. Our invitation post on Facebook received 790 Likes and 41 comments from people in Sydney and around the world.

There were a total of 62 #sydearthhourpw photos uploaded to Instagram, generating 2,286 Likes and 407 comments. Since the photo walk, our community of followers (@earth_hour) has increased to more than 850.

When we submitted a selection of photos on our Facebook page, it generated 3,085 Likes and 175 comments. There was a total 1,475,597 impressions for the posts relating to the Sydney photo walk.

Another walk will take place this weekend on September 3rd along one of the major traffic arteries of Sydney, George Street.

Sydney City Council has often discussed the possibility of pedestrianising this street, so we have invited Instagramers to capture what they like best about the city and the possibilities for a car-free thoroughfare. Earth Hour will be presenting the images to the City Council to strengthen our case for a pedestrians only George Street.

Check out our feature on The Next Web

Plastic is all around us, and one product that has a huge impact on the environment is the single use plastic water bottle. The whole process of producing plastic bottles has an impact on the environment - the production, the shipping, the storage, the refrigeration. And then the bottles are thrown out, ending up as land fill. Using something once and then throwing it away is not logical. 

The bottles that end up in land fill create piles of toxic waste which then seeps into the soil and our rivers and oceans.

Hers a just a few facts:

• Over 400,000 barrels of oil is used per year in Australia to manufacture plastic for bottles
• Only 30% of plastic bottles are recycled
• Tap water costs 1 cent per litre compared to bottled water which costs $2.53 per litre
• It takes seven litres of water to make a one litre water bottle
• There are 200 billion litres of bottled water consumed worldwide, worth an estimated $100 billion dollars
  

I wrote a proposal to my school principal to have the single use plastic water bottle banned, to install water bottle filling stations, to revamp the school bubblers and to provide each student and teacher with a reusable stainless steel drinking bottle.

Our school is now leading the way through positive actions by being part of the solution - not the problem. My school is reducing its ecological footprint and reducing waste and that means we will have less impact on our environment.

People working together to come up with solutions and take action is what our planet needs and we don’t have to wait for politicians to make every decision for us. We have the power to make a future that we want.

I hope our school inspires other schools, businesses and communities to follow our lead.

Remember “Habits made today will help life tomorrow.”

 - Parrys Raines

Today marks the fifth day of  the "Stop the Pipeline" sit-in in front of the White House. In what is being billed as “the largest collective act of civil disobedience in the history of the climate movement," brave Americans are peacefully protesting for a cause near and dear to our hearts.

The protestors have joined together in front of President Obama's home to stop a pipeline from being built. The 1,700-mile Keystone XL Pipeline, would carry diluted bitumen — an acidic crude oil — from Canada’s Alberta tar sands (the dirtiest fuel source known to man) to the Texas refineries. Suffice it to say: It would lock the United States into a future of energy dependency, and it'd be a very, very bad thing.

On Sunday, The New York Times came out against the proposed pipeline in an editorial piece:

"We have two main concerns: the risk of oil spills along the pipeline, which would traverse highly sensitive terrain, and the fact that the extraction of petroleum from the tar sands creates far more greenhouse emissions than conventional production does."

And so the ongoing civil disobedience outside of the White House has become President Obama’s most important environmental decision prior to the 2012 election. Many protestors rocked "Obama 2008" buttons to send a message that they want the candidate who promised to tackle climate change head on and help end our nation's dependence on fossil fuels.

Over 2,000 people have signed up to protest the XL, and as I write, over 220 people have been arrested to send a loud and clear message to the President.

Wherever you are in this beautiful world of ours, please send positive thoughts to these protestors who are so courageously acting in not only their country's best interest, but in the planet's.

BrownLovesGreen.com