Graphic by Tom Worman

On 29th March, Hampshire joined the rest of the world in switching off lights to inspire people to take action against climate change.

Spinnaker Tower, the most iconic building in Hampshire, had been illuminated green for the past 29 days in support of the Green Month campaign.

That evening, it joined 24 cities around the world as part of Earth Hour – the operation to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take simple steps needed to cut their energy emissions.

People and organisations all over the world switched off their lights for the hour, proving that small actions everyone can make will help the fight against global warming.

In the run up to the switch off, lucky ticket winners poured into the waterfront bar and were set for three hours of partying in the dark, but before they made full use of their free drinks tokens, I asked them about their views on ‘going green’:

What changes are you making to be more environmentally friendly?

Amy and Nina: The only thing we do is recycle. We would like to do more but it’s quite expensive to go completely green.

Paul: I recently bought a low-powered laptop.

Emma: Mainly recycling, but I’m still throwing lots of things away because the council won’t take them. Things like plastic packaging and drinks cartons can be taken at my parent’s house in Essex, but not here. Something needs to be done so that these items can be recycled too.

What are the biggest un-green things that you do?

Amy: It’s probably taking too many hot baths, because we don’t have a shower at the moment!

Paul: I have to travel a lot for my job and it often means that I need to take long-haul flights.

Emma: Our office has no recycling plan and I get through so much paper everyday. My daughter also has an aquarium which uses electricity for lighting and water movement.

How do you think Earth Hour will help?

Nina: If the world collectively switches off its lighting for a whole hour then yes, it will definitely make a difference.

Paul: I’m not sure how much of a difference it’s going to make. Much more needs to be done than just switching off the lights.

Emma: Even if people aren’t going to switch off their lights tonight, they will at least be aware of this campaign – it’s been on the radio for the last month, and Google even turned its homepage black today! Just making the world aware about how they can change their ways is an achievement in itself.

At one minute to eight, the crowd gathered around the stage and Lucio [the MC] started a countdown live on air. As soon as the clock struck eight o clock, the Spinnaker (which can usually be seen from twenty miles across the south coast), plunged into total darkness. The party continued until ten, and everybody seemed to have a great time.

With millions of people around the world sharing such an experience, there’s hope for the future of climate change. The night culminated with the amazing vocals of Booty Luv, who got the crowd dancing with their biggest hits ‘Some Kinda Rush,’ ‘Shine’ and of course ‘Boogie 2Nite.’

The event has been a great first step, but if we’re to reach Earth Hour’s eventual goal of reducing annual emissions by 5%, then companies, communities, and individuals, must strive to make Earth Hour part of their everyday life.