Lights out

The Smithsonian Castle went dark for an hour on Saturday, March 27, to mark the Institution’s participation in Earth Hour 2010. Earth Hour is a World Wildlife Fund global initiative where individuals, schools, organizations, businesses and governments turn off their lights for one hour to show support for the fight against pollution and climate change.

The Castle at 8:29 p.m. On March 27 (Photo by Eric Long)

Launched in 2007, Earth Hour has become a global phenomenon. This year, an estimated one billion people from more than 120 countries on seven continents took part in the largest Earth Hour event yet. Starting in New Zealand and following the sun around the world to reach Hawaii 24 hours later, people turned off their lights for 60 minutes at 8:30 p.m., local time.

In addition to the Smithsonian Castle, iconic American landmarks that dimmed their lights included the Las Vegas Strip; the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, UN headquarters and Broadway theater marquees in New York City; as well as Mount Rushmore, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Seattle’s Space Needle, St. Louis’s Gateway Arch, Chicago’s Sears Tower and Niagara Falls.

(Photo by Eric Long)

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