(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-30 10:06

GOOGLE GOES DARK

In a tip of its virtual hat to the event, the background of Google's home page turned to black from white on more than a dozen country sites including Google.com. A message on the site read: "We've turned the lights out. Now it's your turn."

Floodlights went out at landmarks in Budapest, including its castle, cathedral and parliament.

In Britain, 26 town and city councils signed up to switch off nonessential lights as did several historic buildings including Prince Charles' private residence Highgrove House, London City Hall, Winchester Cathedral and the Government Communication Headquarters radio monitoring station. The south coast town of Brighton turned off the lights on its pier.

The movement crossed the Atlantic to the United States and Canada, where the 553-metre (1,815 ft) CN Tower in Toronto and the surrounding skyline were plunged into temporary darkness.

In Toronto's trendy Queen West neighborhood, many restaurants offered candlelight dining. The golden arches at a corner McDonalds were dark, though the fast-food restaurant itself was brightly lit.

Closer to downtown, news helicopters swooped low over city streets, where banks had switched off the neon signs atop their skyscrapers. "I would have expected fewer helicopters during earth hour," said one disgruntled spectator.

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and Chicago's Sears Tower and Soldier Field football stadium were slated to take part in the closing hours of Saturday's global event.

Buildings account for about one-third of the carbon emissions that scientists say will boost global average temperatures by between 1.4 and 4.0 degrees Celsius this century bringing floods and famines and putting millions of lives at risk.

Organizers of Earth Hour said that while switching off a light for one hour would have little impact on carbon emissions, the fact that so many people were taking part showed how much interest and concern at the climate crisis had taken hold.

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