Business and homes across the world were plunged in darkness on Saturday night. No, there wasn't a calamitous disaster that left people without power; instead it is estimated that approximately 30 million individuals voluntarily shut off their lights for an hour as part of Earth Hour which began in Fiji and Christchurch, New Zealand, and gradually made its way across the globe.

"Earth Hour shows that everyday people are prepared to pull together to find a solution to climate change. It can be done," said James Leape of WWF International, which was running the campaign.

Over 380 cities and towns and more than 3,500 business all over the world signed up for the event on the official Earth Hour website, each demonstrating their commitment to the campaign using a variety of methods.

- The street lights stayed on in Bangkok, however several business districts, shopping centers and billboards turned off their lights. A popular hotel also joined in, offering candlelit dining for guests.

- In Sydney, Australia, where Earth Hour originated last year, lights at the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge were dimmed, while festive Australians gathered in droves to participiate in candlelit beach parties and poker games, as well as floating candles down the river.

- Residents of Toronto played glow-in-the-dark soccer games, attended "dark parties" and went on lantern walks. One McDonald's location even turned off their glowing golden arches, but left the interior of the restaurant lit.

- Though they didn't stay dark for the full hour, several notable landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Sears Tower in Chicago and Toronto's CN Tower went dark for a few minutes to show support for the initiative.

The effects of Earth Hour could even be seen online; anyone who visited the Google.com page or their local Google page, were greeted by a black screen (a change from the usual white background) and the message, "We've turned the lights out. Now it's your turn." Internet surfers were encouraged to conserve energy when using their computers.

» Reuters Environment