Over 75 buildings, bridges to go dark in Moscow

More than 75 buildings and bridges, including the well-known Moscow State University, will turn off their lights on Saturday during the global Earth Hour. “This year, lighting will be turned off at over 75 facilities during the Earth Hour,” a city administration official told RIA Novosti. “The same number of buildings and bridges went dark last year.” Earth Hour is organized annually on the last Saturday of March by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The initiative traces its origin back to Australia in 2007 when businesses and residents in Sydney turned off their lights for one hour to make a statement about energy use and global warming. A few years later, it is the largest voluntary event in history. Last year, the event was held in Russia for a third time, and RIA Novosti also took part in it. The Russian capital will also host environmental education events dedicated to the Earth Hour at Moscow’s specially protected natural sites. More than 4,000 cities from 131 countries and about 750 major landmarks turned off their lights during the global Earth Hour event on March 26, 2011.