For the very first time, Russia’s Kremlin, the residence of the President, and Red Square will switch off for Earth Hour tomorrow at 8:30PM to celebrate Earth Hour’s largest conservation outcome so far.

In a message to the world on the eve of the seventh Earth Hour, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says:  "Around the globe, increasingly extreme weather is harming families, communities and economies.  Everyone has a role to play. Governments need to provide the political will, businesses can contribute solutions, and civil society, especially young people, can mobilise global action.  Together, let’s do our part and shed light on common sense answers for a cleaner, greener world."

Noting that "cities across America are currently facing the staggering costs of weather driven to extremes by climate change, and the resulting power outages, flooded roadways, shuttered businesses, and damaged homes are becoming more and more frequent,"  the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 13 March approved a resolution accepting WWF's Earth Hour City Challenge.

Mayor Kasim Reed and Councilmember Aaron Watson call on residents and businesses to conserve energy by turning off non-essential lights for one hour.

"I hate cleaning the kitchen. I put it off until it becomes a growling, reeking monster," says Lou Leonard, head of WWF's climate program in this piece reposted from the Huffington Post.  However, he adds, it doesn't have to be this way. "Even when the job seems too big, take it in chunks, something easy first, build your momentum...It turns out, this approach works for big problems beyond my kitchen -- from eating healthy to getting more exercise to moving away from dangerous fossil fuels and tackling climate change."

In recognition of San Francisco’s comprehensive efforts to promote renewable energy and prepare its residents for extreme weather and other consequences of climate change, an international jury has named the city U.S. Earth Hour Capital for 2013. As part of this honor, the city will receive World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour Climate Leaders Award and $30,000 to support its work engaging San Franciscans around climate impacts on the city’s future.

From the Sydney Opera House to Table Mountain, The Petronas Towers to The Brandenburg Gate, and The Tokyo Tower to The Empire State Building - a long list of the most recognisable icons across the globe will be participating in Earth Hour 2013 this Saturday March 23 at 8:30PM, as the world’s largest movement for the planet celebrates the environmental outcomes generated by its participants around the world.

This Saturday (23 March 2013), front porches, businesses, town halls and iconic landmarks across America and around the world will go dark as non-essential lights are switched off for one hour in celebration of the world’s largest voluntary environmental action.  “In addition to raising global awareness, we are also transforming that excitement into local action to prepare our communities for the impacts of extreme weather and climate change,” says Keya Chatterjee, director of international climate policy for WWF.  San Francisco is the 2013 U.S. Earth Hour City Capital, having been selected from a group of 29 U.S. cities participating in WWF’s Earth Hour City Challenge – an annual initiative recognizing cities preparing for increasingly extreme weather and promoting renewable energy.  San Francisco, along with Chicago and Cleveland, will receive WWF’s Earth Hour Climate Leaders Award and $30,000 to support their efforts to engage residents in local climate action.

WWF’s Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) has recognised the City of Vancouver, Canada, for its innovative actions on climate change and dedication to create a sustainable, pleasant urban environment for current and future residents.

An international team of researchers has found that rapid warming in northern latitudes has resulted in a decline in temperature seasonality --  the difference between summer and winter temperatures -- which in turn has shifted growing seasons in the region.  "Results show temperature and vegetation growth at northern latitudes now resemble those found 4 degrees to 6 degrees of latitude farther south as recently as 1982," says NASA in a press release today (10 March 2013).  "This landscape resembles what was found 250 to 430 miles (400 to 700 kilometers) to the south in 1982,"  the agency explains.  "It's like Winnipeg, Manitoba, moving to Minneapolis-Saint Paul in only 30 years," said co-author Compton Tucker of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.  "The global implications of these large shifts in a region covering a fifth of our planet cannot be understated," says Martin Sommerkorn Head of Conservation for WWF's Global Arctic Programme.