Earth Hour 2014: How You Can Raise Awareness For A ‘Sustainable Future’ By Shutting Off The Lights

Earth Hour takes place globally on Saturday from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m local time (wherever you may be). Earth Hour is a global movement to show a commitment to a sustainable future for planet Earth.

Earth Hour is a flexible event that allows almost anyone to participate, even if you’re hearing about this for the first time today. All you have to do is turn off all non-essential lighting for one hour.

Earth Hour starts in South Africa and makes its way across the world with both municipal and grassroots events. Here is a list of all cities and organizations participating in Earth Hour in the United States. You can find international events here.

Earth Hour was started by the World Wide Fund for Wildlife (WWF) Australia as a way to raise awareness about energy consumption and get people involved in environmental activism. It’s steadily grown over the last seven years. Last year over 7,000 cities across 154 countries participated.

You can share your Earth Hour efforts on Twitter via #EarthHour and #EarthHour2014 or by tweeting the official Earth Hour accounts like @Earthhour, @EarthHourIndia, @EarthHourCanada and @World_Wildlife.

Earth Hour is giving away prizes to users who share their Earth Hour activities on Instagram and tag #EarthHour, #SpiderMan (this year’s superhero ambassador), and #YourPower. You can also follow @EarthHourOfficial on Instagram for photos and videos from around the world.

2014 is the biggest Earth Hour yet and the WWF has added two new components to the project. This is the first year that Earth Hour will have a superhero ambassador. Sony Pictures and the cast of 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' are taking part in the Earth Hour festivities this year and encouraging folks to get involved with local events. Spider-man will represent the cause at events across the world.

Secondly, the WWF launched the Earth Hour Blue crowdfunding platform. Earth Hour Blue lets you support and stay informed about environmentally minded projects from around the world. It's a Kickstarter specifically for environmentally conscious projects. It's a part of WWF's increased efforts to expand Earth Hour to the other 364 days of the year.

Watch highlights from around the world during last year’s Earth Hour: