With only a few hours to go, the countdown to Saudi Arabia's first Earth Hour has begun amid considerable buzz across the Kingdom about what exactly will happen between 8:30 P.M. and 9:30 P.M. tonight. Mazen Batterjee, vice president of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), announcing that the JCCI will take part in Earth Hour, said: “We will turn off all the lights of our main building during Earth Hour. We are encouraging our employees and (business) partners to take part as well. It is our social responsibility to save the Earth and we should spread awareness in this regard.” Batterjee added that “we are willing to extend our cooperation to organize conferences and seminars on the importance of Earth Hour and other environmental issues”. He said Al-Bir charitable organization is also participating. “This is an opportunity for others as well to join hands and come forward,” he said. Confirming their commitment to Earth Hour as had earlier been reported, a circular from Ahmad Sulaiman Al-Batah, administration supervisor general of Okaz Organization for Press and Publication, informed employees that “in line with directives from the Organization's Director General, Okaz will take part in this important event by disconnecting power at the same time and on the same day, and we therefore ask all staff to take the necessary precautionary measures”. Lights in the Jeddah office of the British Council (BC), which has been an active organizer of various environmental awareness programs in the past, will be dimmed and its employees will fully switch off lights at their homes to be part of the event, said Marcus Gilbert, BC western region director, Saudi Arabia. “Because of security issues we cannot have a complete blackout in the office,” he said. Not wanting to be left out, various consulates in Jeddah are also doing their bit. B.K Aseeja, HOC at the Indian consulate, and Mohammed Tariq, press consul at the Pakistani consulate, confirmed to Saudi Gazette their consulates' participation in Earth Hour. “This is our responsibility. However, since the gas emitted by vehicles is much more damaging to the environment, Earth Hour should also entail keeping all vehicles off the streets for that one hour,” said Pakistani welfare consul Nusrullah Watto. Abdul Muqtader, trade officer at the British consulate, said: “Britain has always been at the forefront of environmental programs. We will switch off the lights except the security lights at the (British) consulate and all our employees will do so at home in an effort to show their solidarity with the rest of the world in saving the environment and energy”. Sri Lankan Consul General Sabarullah Khan and Swiss Consul General Hans Stalder said their respective consulates will go dark during Earth Hour. “Of course we will participate. Switzerland has always initiated programs on environmental awareness. This is the time to be active and spread awareness about such issues as energy conservation, etc.,” said Stalder. Kai Fitness Center in Jeddah has created an Earth Hour awareness slogan, which is: ‘Turn off the electricity to turn on your future'. “Over 100 people at our centers will participate to show their love for the Earth. We plan to turn off certain electric machines, lights and signboards. We are also sending out Earth Hour reminders through text messages and emails to our 10,000-strong customer base,” said Mohammad Bakhrieba, marketing manager of Kai Fitness Center. Meanwhile, Saudi Gazette's visit to the Jeddah Mayoralty last week was met with curious questions from some of its employees, one even asking “What is Earth Hour, please?” This was despite a stack of brochures on Earth Hour, prepared in English and Arabic by one contracted cleaning company, lying on the employees' desks. Sharifa Abdulrahman, who started a Facebook event ‘Earth Hour Jeddah ‘10', which has over 1600 confirmed participants, and has been actively pursuing corporate houses and establishments to volunteer for Earth Hour, lamented “a huge lack of enthusiasm or excitement from businesses to participate”. “A lot of people don't understand the concept of why we are doing Earth Hour. This is only a tiny step out of the many steps ahead to help make this country greener. Nobody expects the Earth to be saved in one hour. It's about people coming together to do something very simple, which is to turn off the non-essential lights and electrical items for one hour. When we all do little things like these, it adds up into a much bigger force.” Though Saudi Wildlife, Earth Hour's official sponsors of Saudi Arabia, have been negotiating with some of the Kingdom's landmark's to get them go dark for an hour tonight, it seems not much has transpired. Nevertheless, the word is spreading and some of the Earth hour 2010 participants, apart from the JCCI and the aforementioned consulates, across the Kingdom include: Saudi British Bank, Al-Baik, British Council, Alwan Company, King Saud University in Riyadh, King Fahd University in Dammam, Tabuk University, Jubail School, Pakistan International School Jeddah – English Section (PISJ-ES), Le Meridian, IKEA, Jeddah Teacher's College, Sheraton, Hilton, Rosewood Corniche, Il Villagio Restaurants & Lounges, Friday's restaurant, the Help Center and Kai Fitness Center. Musicians Anwar Idriss, Qusai and Street locoz, a band that raps about important issues, and a group of girls from Effat University have been actively raising awareness about Earth Hour. – SG – Additional reporting by Naif Masrahi and Jassim Alghamdi __
