By Mark Krajnak, Manager, Corporate Communications, Johnson & Johnson
Most people have heard about Earth Day, which was first celebrated on April 22, 1970 (a mere three days before I was born, in fact.), and will celebrated again in just a few weeks.
But how many people know about Earth Hour, a new global initiative is taking place today? Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour will take place at 8:30 p.m. your local time and encourages people to turn off their lights which organizers hope to capture as a vote that signals support for governments to take action against global warming.
Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. Last year, there was a more of a global groundswell and in 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote.
Hearing that Johnson & Johnson intends to support this initiative as well (by simply turning out all non-essential lighting for one hour at our offices and facilities) my family decided that we too are going to take part in this initiative. Saturday evening in my house usually includes make a nice, “comfort-food” type dinner, getting our two-year old ready for bed, walking the dogs one last time and settling in for a movie. We're still going to do all of that, just without the lights on. It’s not that hard and it goes toward a great initiative.