Hundreds brave the cold for a dark San Francisco

Greetings to all from San Francisco, where hundreds of Earth Hour revelers braved the chilly summer fog to watch the city go dark in this dramatic event to tackle climate change! Led by Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Franciscans voiced their commitment to combat climate change, not only through Earth Hour, but by continuing to drive awareness of this critical environmental issue and by making conservation a part of their daily lives.

Leading up to the moment when the city went dark, we also heard from Senator Barbara Boxer, who gave voice to Californians' environmental concerns and commitments; WWF's own Suzanne Apple, who works with businesses around the world to protect the environment; and entertainers, such as the campy Beach Blanket Babylon, and Jason Damato, who wrote a song "Lights Out" especially for Earth Hour. Olympic Gold Medalist Brian Boitano mc'd the event and the WWF Panda entertained adults and children alike.

A hush fell over the crowd as the time for Earth Hour approached, and the clock tower on the Ferry Building signaled the moment, not with a chime this time, but by turning off its lights - starting a wave of darkness that fell over the rest of the building and the city. At 8 pm local time, famous landmarks in this City by the Bay turned their lights off. The Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower and Alcatraz Island, the Embarcadero and Transamerica buildings all went dark for Earth Hour.

The Market Bar, in the Ferry Building, was one of many restaurants hosting candlit dinners. Hotels across San Francisco handed out flyers to alert their patrons and ask them to turn out their lights. And community groups and individuals came together to create their own personal Earth Hour celebrations. There were even nighttime nature hikes!

As the first global Earth Hour event winds to a close, WWF would like to send a huge THANK YOU to all of the incredible individuals, organizations, businesses and governments around the world who made this event possible! Your hard work and dedication, your enthusiasm, and your participation in Earth Hour have sent a powerful message around the planet that, by coming together, we can all make a difference.

San Francisco clears up for Earth Hour

Here in San Francisco the rain and drizzle have lifted, cloudy skies have turned sunny…and we’re forecasting a fabulous evening for Earth Hour! With all the work and preparation still to be done, it’s a bit hard to imagine that Earth Hour has already passed for most of the official cities throughout the world.

From Giant Stadium to the ferry boat to Alcatraz prison, the Earth Hour video voiced by Jeremy Piven has been spreading the word. Hotels are asking their guests to go dark and restaurants are holding Earth Hour specials. Everywhere you go, people are excited about being part of this global event. Thousands of CFL light bulbs were handed out all across the city today by volunteers wearing those familiar black Earth Hour t-shirts. And today’s local newscasts and newspapers were filled with stories about the event.

The stage is just not being set up outside the Market Bar near San Francisco’s famous Embarcadero where we will formally usher in Earth Hour with help from our emcee, 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Brian Boitano, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, our own WWF-US Vice President Suzanne Apple and a host of local notables. In just about 10 minutes we’ll begin a round of live newscasts outside the event venue.

The Panda has entered the venue.

We’ve just learned that Atlanta officially went dark and now we’re waiting to hear from Chicago. Joy and excitement…even as our own tension builds!!