Earth Hour Around the World : 2009, Auckland, New Zealand

More than 3,400 cities worldwide have taken part in Earth Hour, turning off their lights for one hour at 2030 local time in protest against climate change.
New Zealand was one of the first countries to take part. In Wellington, revellers turned the event into a celebration with a candle-lit concert.

iPhone users to get Skype service (VOIP, Auckland, New Zealand)

Skype has confirmed that iPhone users will be now be able to use its internet telephony service. The firm's native voice over internet protocol (VoIP) application - Skype for iPhone - will be available for download from Apples iTune store on Tuesday. The new service will allow users to make free calls to Skype users, but will charge for calls to other numbers. The UK's first Skype capable handset was launched by Mobile operator 3 on 2 November 2007. Rival applications from Fring and TruPhone are already available for the iPhone. Unlike traditional mobile calls, which are transmitted over a cellular network, VoIP turns your voice into data and sends it over the internet using a wi-fi network. This means the only cost to the user is for sending internet data; for iPhone users this means no cost at all, as they get unlimited internet access within fair usage limitations. VoIP firms will levy a charge for users making calls outside its user base. In the case of Skype, while calling another Skype user will be free, calling an actual phone number via the service will incur a cost. Iphone users will not be able to make Skype calls, either to Skype contacts or to landlines, over the mobile network, something users of Skype on the UK mobile network 3 can do. Watching the pennies Many of Skype's other features - such as video conferencing and the ability to receive a second Skype call - have been left out, although the firm did not rule them out in the future. "We're considering video carefully but we have a really high bar on the quality," said Skype's chief operating officer Scott Durchslag. "If we do it we will have to do it incredibly well." Mr Durchslag said he had high hopes for the application. "The number one request we get from customers is to make Skype available on iPhone," he said. Skype plan to launch a service for BlackBerry users in May.

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Earth Hour 2009: Why it is important (Auckland, New Zealand, David Lim)

(Source: Philadelphia Science and Tech News Examiner)

On Saturday March 28 at 8:30 p.m., you can join a global call to action on climate change by participating in Earth Hour 2009.

Earth Hour 2009 is being promoted as the world’s first global election. Organizers at the World Wildlife Fund hope to reach a target of 1 billion “voters” who participate by switching off their lights. In this election, switching off your lights is a vote to promote awareness of climate change. These votes will be presented to world leaders at the United Nationals Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009.

By turning off the lights in your home at 8:30 p.m. (local time), your home will be celebrating alongside international landmarks such as the Shanghai Hong Kong New World Tower, Paris’ Eiffel Tower, Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Sydney’s Opera House, CN Tower in Toronto and Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Casino.

According to Earth Hour Executive Director, Andy Ridley, “In 2007, Earth Hour was held in one city, Sydney. A year later, the number of cities had skyrocketed to 371.” Participation has smashed through expectations and is a global event with more than 2700 cities in 83 countries committed to participating as of Wednesday March 25.

The Nighttime Lights of the World image showing light sources in the United States.http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/49261main_usa_nightm.jpeOrganizers at the World Wildlife Fund are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. At this 15th meeting of the United Nationals’ Climate Change Convention, government officials, United Nations representatives, and observer organizations will meet to negotiate an update to the Kyoto Protocol.

Egypt’s First Lady, Her Excellency Madame Suzanne Mubarak, will be participating in Earth Hour and in Egypt the lights on the Sphinx and Great Pyramids of Giza will go out. “United together, we can and will make a difference. I am pleased to offer my support of Earth Hour and am encouraged by the World Wildlife Fund's sustainability initiatives. Earth Hour heightens awareness and brings hope to the preservation of our shared planet’s precious environment today and for generations to come.” Why does it matter?

For years, the only manmade object visible from space was the Great Wall of China. Humanity’s dependency on the conveniences provided by the ready availability of relatively cheap electricity, has changed with the concept of “light pollution.” Regardless of an individual’s personal view on the causes of climate change (global warming), the environment is continuing to change. Excessive release of artificial light is a symptom of excessive electrical usage.

The effects of light pollution can be observed when people try to view the night sky in urban areas and only see the brightest of the stars. These people stand in awe when they look up at the truly dark sky and see the multitude of stars present. From an ecological perspective, there is good evidence that light pollution contributes to the disruption of bird migrations and interferes with normal night behaviors of nocturnal animals.

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Parasailing at Muriwai Beach, Auckland, 2008 (David Lim)

We went to Muriwai Beach on March 28, 2009 for a leisure trip, which is only about 28km from Auckland City.

The sight is simply breath taking and the Gannetts (a type of migratory bird) made their home here.

There are about four or five places in the world you can find these rare Gannett birds.

Gannets are colonial breeders on islands and coasts, which normally lay one chalky blue egg. It takes five years for gannets to reach maturity. First-year birds are completely black, and subsequent sub-adult plumages show increasing amounts of white.

The most important nesting ground for Northern gannets is the United Kingdom with about two thirds of the world's population. These live mainly in Scotland and the Shetland Isles. The rest of the world's population is divided between Canada, Ireland, Faroe Islands and Iceland, with small numbers in France (they are often seen in the Bay of Biscay), the Channel Islands and Norway. The biggest Northern gannet colony is in the Scottish islands of St Kilda; this colony alone comprises 20% of the entire world's population. Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth is also famous for its large gannet population. Search Engine Submission