Australia's biggest city plans to shut off lights in global warming gesture

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Australia's biggest city is planning to shut off the lights for an hour this week to show concern over global warming.

Thousands of residents and hundreds of businesses and officials in Sydney have signed on to participate in what's being called “Earth Hour.” If everything goes as planned, the Sydney Opera House, the harbor bridge and thousands of homes, businesses and skyscrapers will go dark next Saturday evening for one hour.

Essential lights, like airport beacons, will stay on.

Organizers hope the event will jumpstart a campaign to encourage Australians to conserve energy. They say by turning off things like computers, appliances and lights when they not used or needed, Sydney could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by five percent a year.

Earth Hour is the latest of several environmental initiatives in Australia. Last month, the government announced plans to phase out incandescent light bulbs and replace them with more energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs.