Many landmarks in Doha went dark at 8.30pm for an hour yesterday as lights, neon signs and all non-essential electrical equipment was switched off at public places, private firms, banks, coffee shops and hotels to mark Earth Hour. Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and held on the last Saturday of March to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change. Qtel joined the event by switching off lights at its headquarters in West Bay. The Qtel Tower went dark from 8.30pm to 9.30pm. “It is an off day for us. But still some staff will be working over at our head office. They will be working under the light of candles during the hour”, Adel Al Mutawa, Executive Director of Group Communications, Qtel, told The Peninsula. “We wanted to ensure that Qatar was represented during Earth Hour and given that our headquarters provides a key landmark in the city, we knew that turning the lights off in our tower would attract interest and attention across Doha. Environmental issues are one of the key pillars of our Corporate Social Responsibility strategy and so there is a natural fit with an international event like Earth Hour”, he added. Some offices and establishments switched off all their lights to join the event, while others switched off the lights in selected areas and functioned under the glow of candle light. The hotels Doha Marriott, Ramada Plaza, Doha Sheraton and Sharq Village and Spa’s Six Senses Spa also heeded the global call by switching off lights in parts of their premises. Leading tour and travel company, Regency Group Holding, also sent out a strong message about the need for action on global warming as it turned off the lights for one hour. Several coffee shops in the city also joined the event. Colombiano Coffee House switched off the lights and received its guests in the light of candles for one hour. “I believe supporting Earth Hour is even more important in Doha as we have in a big carbon footprint and tend to take our energy consumption for granted”, said George F Rizk, General Manager of Colombiano Coffee House, next to the QNB branch near Ramada signal. HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank were among the banks that joined the event. Several families in Doha too enjoyed their dinner by candlelight. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=March2009&file=Local_News2009032964736.xml

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