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[Press Release: March 5th, 2008] Bray Town Council supports Earth Hour - 24 days to goThe three Green Party Councillors called for Bray Town Council to support Earth Hour at their monthly Council Meeting last night. Earth Hour is a world wide campaign to turn out the lights for one hour on March 29th at 8 PM which has been gathering support in Ireland. This Motion was supported unanimously by the twelve Councillors.First begun in Sydney, Australia in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund as a way of raising awareness of the impact an individual can have on energy consumption, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement. The campaign has now been adopted by cities and towns in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, the USA, Canada, Israel, Denmark and now Ireland. All Councils in Dublin have adopted the Campaign and last night Bray joined the list. Cllr. Caroline Burrell who proposed the Motion said, “We are delighted that this Campaign is being supported by the Council. It is an important one and everyone from citizens up to Government has a duty to do what they can against global warming. It is up to us all to do what we can to reduce our CO2 emissions. Through one simple action -by turning off our lights for an hour. We invite the businesses and the people of Bray to join with us on 29th March and turn out their lights in support of this initiative.” A combination of conservation and astronomy Non Governmental Organisations [NGO] in Ireland are also supporting the campaign here to have Ireland switch off the lights for that one hour. Cllr. Ciaran O'Brien said, "This is a way in which ordinary people can make known the world-wide concern about the impact of global warming by doing something practical about our unnecessary use of power. It brings home a global message - every single light makes a statement and makes a difference.’ Cllr. Steve Matthews stated: “There is a widespread belief that energy conservation is just a temporary phenomena and that alternative sources of power will enable us to continue just as we are. In fact, the whole of society is facing an unprecedented change in the world we live in. The longer we wait, the harder its going to be.'” ‘Earth Hour is a wake up call.'
"That this Council recognizes the need for action on global warming and the need to conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions and also the need to reduce light pollution of our night skies. That this Council will support Earth Hour 2008 (www.earthhour.org) by turning off all non-essential lights controlled by the Council from 9 to 10 PM on 29th March 2008 to support a collective world-wide effort to show the difference that can be made by this initiative and to raise public awareness of the need to use less energy."
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