Hotels in Doha that participated yesterday in the Earth Hour 2009 activity, a global environmental awareness event organised by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), estimated they saved around 1,000 kWh or hundreds of riyals worth of electricity by turning out the lights in each establishment for one hour. At 8.30pm yesterday, the hotels Doha Marriott, Ramada Plaza, Doha Sheraton and Sharq Village and Spa’s Six Senses Spa joined other establishments in around 1,000 cities worldwide in turning out their lights for one hour to raise awareness about climate change and global warming. Doha Marriott and Ramada Plaza said around 1,000 kWh of electricity was saved yesterday after they turned out the lights in some sections of the hotel. Doha Marriott turned out the lights in the hotel lobby, executive lounge and the Restaurant Gallery. Candles replaced the electrical lighting, creating a very special, warm atmosphere. “The Ramada Plaza uses around 48,000 kWh of electricity, so by switching off the lights for one hour, we estimate that the hotel saved around 1,000 kWh of electricity,” said Joseph Varkey, chief engineer at Ramada Plaza. Doha Sheraton joined the Earth Hour activity by switching off for an hour lights in certain areas of the hotel like the Health and Recreation Centre, Pirate’s Cove, as well as the poolside restaurant. According to Abdul Salam Osman, chief engineer at the Six Senses Spa, the spa saved around 32 kWh of electricity by switching off the lights at the spa, including the underwater lights, for the hour-long activity. Earth Hour, which began in Sydney in 2007, is a global movement in which tens of millions of people around the world come together to demonstrate their concern about climate change by turning out their lights for one hour. Earth Hour 2009 was taken to the next level, with the goal of a billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. The target was a billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=March2009&file=Local_News200903296477.xml

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