Earth Hour 2010 is a continuing global call to action to every individual, business, and community to stand up and lead in taking on the responsibility for a sustainable future. This year, over 800 cities and towns in at least 80 countries turn off their lights for one hour.

Organized by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), Earth Hour has become one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation initiatives. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people will live in harmony with nature.

Started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, Earth Hour saw 2.2 million homes and businesses turn their lights off. By 2008, Earth Hour had become a global movement with over 50 million people in 35 countries participating. Last year, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third observance of Earth Hour, with over 4,000 cities in 88 countries switching off their lights.

Some 611 megawatt-hours of electricity was saved in Earth Hour 2009, equivalent to shutting down a dozen coal-fired power plants for an hour. The Philippines placed first in terms of town and city participation in the world, with over 10 million Filipinos participating in the global initiative.

This year, Earth Hour Philippines, an annual effort of the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines, the Department of Energy, the Green Army Network, and the SWITCH Movement, has worked to inspire 15 million Filipinos in about 1,000 towns, cities, and municipalities to switch of their lights in a show of support for Earth Hour 2010.

Earth Hour is a concrete way of showing that citizens of Planet Earth, regardless of where they are on the globe, can unite in a display of climate action. It is about making every man, woman, and child aware of the need to control human-induced global warming and adopting more responsible energy practices.