During their reef clean-up on Earth Day, passengers and crew found more than plastics and fishing line.  They brought up a refrigerator that had somehow recently found its way to the bottom of the ocean!  Donna, the pursor onboard said “at the beginning we thought that we might even be able to get it to work!” 

From Mary Franklin, in the Explorer Ventures Sales Office:

 

My boys and I have started going out to the lake and picking up trash. They love the concept of being kind to Mother Earth so that she will be around for their future and the generations to come. Even my 3 yr old, Elijah is having a great time picking up trash…who would have thought??!!! My 8 year old Dalton yells JACKPOT when he find a whole bag someone tossed!! We can only do 1 bag a week right now because we are bringing it home for trash pickup, but they boys never want to leave. We would love to start a movement!!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

We turned out the lights while anchored over a dive site on West Caicos, I believe. I had a wonderful time, not only during that hour (all the STARS!) but during the whole of the trip as well.

– Heather Dobson

In celebration of Earth Day 2008, Nimrod Explorer on the Great Barrier Reef is sponsoring a Coral Reef Monitoring Event with Project AWARE.  Passengers travelling on Nimrod Explorer will have the opportunity to participate in the Asia Pacific Fish Survey and also complete the  Aware Fish ID Specialty course.  Our underwater survey will be conducted at Steve’s Bommie as part of the DAWN DIVE on Monday 28^th April 2008.

Laurene Best, husband David, son Dylan & pet cat Roxy switched off all lights at home and watched the Aussie Rules Football (St. Kilda vs. Carlton) game on the TV on the back patio. The game was played in Victoria where they were 1 hour ahead of us here in Queensland. One of the commentators did say though, that the Carlton Football Club had done their bit to conserve energy by not scoring a solitary goal during Earth Hour!  A number of other residents on the street had switched off lights, but in the same breath, many did not.

These are some of the things that we at Explorer Ventures did to celebrate Earth Hour.

Caribbean Explorer I was at the dock in Georgetown, Bahamas for Earth Hour. The generator was turned off and everyone sat on the sundeck talking while Geoff played his guitar. Several other boats in the marina also turned off their lights.

Caribbean Explorer II spent Earth Hour crossing from St. Maarten to Saba. All lights except navigation lights required for safety were turned off. “It was awesome…fantastic” said Captain Fergi. 

Turks and Caicos Explorer II was at the Caicos Marina in Providenciales for Earth Hour. The guests spent the hour enjoying the beautiful night sky from the fly-bridge.

Nimrod Explorer spent Earth Hour at Cod Hole on the Great Barrier Reef. After the night dive, they switched off all of their lights and their generator. The guests and crew spent the hour telling stories, and Dive Instructor Demi played the Digeridoo.

Randy Harris and Mary Franklin were at “Beneath the Sea” in Secaucus New Jersey and observed Earth Hour by turning off all of the lights in their rooms. 

Diana Heaton enjoyed a quiet candle-lit evening with her dog Wilco and her cats, Mendel and Huxley. Woody and Pat Wood, the intrepid campers, spent the entire weekend enjoying the beautiful outdoors. Ariana Arcenas enjoyed Earth Hour at home with one candle, relaxing in the peace and quiet of the soft candlelight.

After turning off all of the lights in their house, Missy Tysver spent the hour relaxing with her husband and her daughter, Lexi. Missy’s comment about Earth Hour was “LOVED IT, can we do it every Saturday?”

Crystal Hatten shut off all of the lights in her house and then joined the rest of her family at her parents’ house for an evening of card games by candlelight. Her daughter, Teyonna, had a blast running around the house with a flashlight.

 

 

THANK YOU to everyone who participated in Earth Hour 2008!

 

Some of the famous lights that will be turned off in the United States for Earth Hour 2008:

In Chicago:

• Sears Tower — Turning off non-essential exterior lighting
  
• John Hancock Center – Turning off all non-essential exterior lighting
  
• Navy Pier – Turning off decorative lighting and Ferris Wheel lighting
  
• Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears — Turning off non-essential lighting
  
• Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs — Turning off the famous marquee
  
• McDonalds – Turning off the Golden Arches in all 485 Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana stores
  
• Marquees lights throughout the downtown theater district will go off–Chicago Theatre, Auditorium
  
• Theatre, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Goodman Theatre, LaSalle Bank Theatre, Oriental Theatre
  
• United Center—will turn off the lights on its famous Michael Jordan statue for Earth Hour.
  

In San Francisco:

• Golden Gate Bridge – Turning off non-essential /decorative lighting on towers
  
• Bay Bridge – All lighting on the towers to be turned off
  
• City Hall – All outdoor lighting turned off
  
• Coit Tower – Turning off all non-essential lighting
  
• Ghirardelli Square – Turning off iconic sign that overlooks the San Francisco Bay
  
• Alcatraz – Turning off all non-essential lighting
  
• AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants – Playing the Earth Hour video at several home games before the 29th and turning off all non-essential lighting the night of Earth Hour.
  

In Atlanta:

• Bank of America Plaza – Fifth tallest building in the country is turning off all non-essential lighting
  
• The Fabulous Fox Theatre—will darken its famous marquee in honor of Earth Hour
  
• The Weather Channel – Turning off all non-essential lighting on their building as well as promoting Earth Hour on their program Forecast Earth and at www.weather.com/forecastearth.
  
• Georgia Aquarium – Largest aquarium in the world turning off all non-essential lighting
  
• Georgia Dome, home of the Atlanta Falcons – Turning off all non-essential lighting
  
• Westin Peachtree Plaza – Tallest hotel in Georgia turning off all non-essential lighting
  
• The Varsity—Atlanta’s world-famous drive-in restaurant will turn off its signage in support of Earth Hour
  

In Phoenix:

• Phoenix Suns / US Airways Arena –Turning off all non-essential lighting during the NCAA tournament. The Suns will broadcast the Earth Hour video and PSA’s on the jumbotron.
  
• Phoenix City Hall - One of the tallest buildings in Phoenix’s downtown area, City Hall will be turning off its lights to recognize Earth Hour
  
• Arizona Diamondbacks - The Major League Baseball team will be darkening their marquee at Chase Field in honor of Earth Hour.

Lights out for the Great Barrier Reef

With this year being hailed as the International Year of the Reef, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is thrilled to see strong local support for the World Wildlife Fund’s international climate initiative, Earth Hour.

GBRMPA Chairman Russell Reichelt said Earth Hour was a great way of raising awareness about the issue of climate change, which is now widely recognised as the single greatest threat to coral reefs worldwide.

“We have heard about some fantastic things that people in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area are doing not just for Earth Hour but throughout the year to reduce their climate footprint.”

Many passionate individuals, schools and businesses have notified the GBRMPA about their intention to participate in Earth Hour and their longer term plans to help protect the Great Barrier Reef.

For example, Reef Guardian Schools throughout Queensland are learning about climate change and taking action to help protect the Reef by making their schools more sustainable.

Although Earth Hour occurs outside of school hours, Thuringowa State High School (a Reef Guardian School) in Townsville, found a way to support the cause at school by spelling out Earth Hour using students and staff.

Many of the GBRMPA’s Reef Guardian Councils are encouraging their staff to participate in Earth Hour and are working towards reducing their ecological footprints to help protect the Reef by improving land, waste, and water management and by involving their local communities in environmental programs.

“We have heard about a residential apartment complex hosting a candlelit barbeque, tourism operators who will be switching off the lights on their boats during Earth Hour, an operator who has a carbon neutral dive program, people who are replacing their old appliances with more energy efficient ones, and even a completely solar powered house,” Mr Reichelt said.

“Lady Elliot Island Resort in the southern Great Barrier Reef and the ranger station on Low Isles Island in the north will be making sure the lights are out on the Reef during Earth Hour.

“Both islands are aiming to be climate neutral by 2020 and have staged renewable energy projects underway. 

“These initiatives are exciting and really showcase how individuals and businesses are making a positive impact on the environment.”

Individuals, businesses and community groups can register their commitment on the Earth Hour website http://www.earthhour.org/

To find out about other ways in which you can help protect the Great Barrier Reef or to share ideas about your own initiatives, contact the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on (07) 4750 0603.

Media enquiries to: Katie Munkres, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, (07) 4750 0603

(More information about specific Earth Hour initiatives can be provided upon request.)

 

It all started with a question: “How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?” Earth Hour answers this by demonstrating the impact that individual impacts have when they are put together.

On March 31, 2007 2.2million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour. EARTH HOUR. For one hour Sydney’s energy consumption was reduced by 10.2%, which is the equivalent to taking 48,000 cars off of the road for one year.

This year, Earth Hour is being held on March 29^th, from 8pm to 9pm local time. Cities, communities, and businesses around the world have registered to participate in Earth Hour. Participating cities include: Atlanta, Bangkok, Brisbane, Canberra, Chicago, Christchurch, Copenhagen, Dublin, Manila, Melbourne, Montreal, Odense, Ottawa, Perth, Phoenix, San Francisco, Suva, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Vancouver

Explorer Ventures is committed to doing its part to reduce its impact on climate change, and will be participating in Earth Hour. The boats will turn off as many lights as possible, allowing guests to enjoy and appreciate the beautiful night sky on the ocean.

To learn more about Earth Hour, visit their website www.earthhour.org.