News Release

Issued 27.3.09                          For immediate use  

Cathedral lights go out for the environment

Ripon Cathedral will be plunged into darkness this Saturday evening as part of a global environmental campaign to raise awareness of the need for action on climate change. The Cathedral will switch off its floodlights on Saturday night (March 28th) between 8.30pm and 9.30pm in support of 'Earth Hour', an international event created by WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The Cathedral joins other major landmarks across the globe including Nelson’s Column, the Forth Bridge, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the Eiffel Tower, Niagara Falls, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town and Sydney Opera House, and more than 2000 cities from 80 countries worldwide which will switch off their lighting in support of the campaign. 

A spokesperson for the Cathedral said, "The Council and Chapter of the Cathedral have adopted "Greening the Cathedral" as a major initiative, seeking to lower the Cathedral's carbon footprint and so demonstrate a commitment to environmental responsibility and our stewardship of God's creation.  This one hour of darkness is a small but significant statement that we can all make a difference in combating the worldwide challenge of global warming."  

Ends

More information about Earth hour is available on the WWF website : http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/aboutearthhour/

Cathedral Office: 01765 603462

Issued by John Carter (Rev)
Press and Communications Officer, Diocese of Ripon and Leeds

jhgcarter@aol.com
01423 530369 or mobile 07798 652707