By Susan Ellis of Key Life Journeys

Last year both I, as an individual, and my company SME Productions registered to participate in Earth Hour.

This year according to the official website -

"Earth Hour 2009 is set to switch off the globe. Already 377 cities, and double the number of countries that participated in 2008, are committed. With hundreds more cities expected to sign up to switch off in the coming months, Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change.

In 2009, at 8.30pm on March 28, people around the world will turn their lights off for one hour – Earth Hour. We’re aiming to reach one billion people, more than 1000 cities, all joining together in a global effort to show that its possible to take action on global warming.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one hour. Only a year later and this event had become a global sustainability movement with up to 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour."

This is people power at its best. Peacefully making a statement and encouraging others, gently, to get on board. No coercion, no force, no threat, no intimidation. Just people joining together to do what they think is right for our common home - earth. There is the awareness that we all must invest together because there is only one home, one planet for us at this time. However much political and religious leaders want to separate, segregate and divide us as people, one basic fact remains. There are many countries, many tribes, many languages, many religious - but only one earth. It is the common ground. It is the holy ground - and we all share it together.

This year I will be in Mexico during Earth Hour. The night before, 27th March, I will be staying at an Eco Lodge near Divisadero. It is owned by the local indigenous people, the Tarahumara. I will be visiting the Copper Canyon area of the Sierra Madre Mountains, far from the electricity grid. My lodge will be solar powered and I will be star gazing at night. I'll be at the canyon edge at a height of over 6,000ft viewing canyons larger that the Grand Canyon of Arizona. How perfect if I could have been there during Earth Hour itself. But I will be leaving there on the Saturday morning. During the actual hour my train will be taking me to Chihuahua City. I may not, therefore, be able to honour Earth Hour at the exact time, but I will dedicate and meditate an hour during my trip.

Earth Hour aims to reach more than one billion people in 1000 cities around the world - sign up

Earth Hour is one way that the individual has voice and will be heard by her actions. It is people power. Corporations are getting involved because they realize people power does have power and they want to curry favour.

A more local, i.e. Canadian, issue is how our government is dealing with climate change. Many Canadians are glad the Government is stalling for it guarantees their jobs and future prosperity. On the other hand there are many Canadians who want change now to protect the living conditions of ourselves and future generations on this planet.

My voice is heard when I participate in petitions and action coordinated by Avaaz.org This week's issue is regarding climate change and tomorrow's visit to Canada by Barack Obama.

This is the issue laid out on Avaaz website -

"With George Bush out of office, Stephen Harper has lost his biggest ally in avoiding action on climate change. When Barack Obama visits Canada on Thursday, Harper will desperately try to push Obama to accept parts of his do-nothing climate plan. We need to make it clear to the American President that Canada's citizens do not support their Prime Minister on this issue, and support Obama to take a firm position in telling Mr. Harper that the bad old days are over, and its time for both the US and Canada to act responsibly.

The media will be eagerly following Obama's first international visit, so we're publishing a big ad in the Washington Post on Wednesday to attract attention, clearly telling President Obama and the US media where Canadians stand. The ad will also be delivered directly to Obama's climate advisor.

2009 is THE make or break year for the earth's climate. It will take every nation working at its best to mobilize fast enough to get a global treaty at the UN Copenhagen summit in December, and Canadians want to be part of the solution. But we're stuck with a Prime Minister and an Environment Minister who are in the pocket of the oil industry, despite all their public claims to be green. On Thursday, Harper will likely offer guaranteed oil supplies to the US in return for Obama agreeing to exempt Canada's tar sands oil (which pollutes 3-4 times as much as regular oil) from global regulation. Side deals like this will effectively kill the global climate treaty at Copenhagen that the world desperately needs.

Obama is facing an uphill fight to get a progressive climate plan through in his own country, so we need to make sure that he doesn't feel any need to make damaging deals with our Prime Minister. Most Canadians are not represented by our government, so on this most crucial issue and visit, we have to conduct our own diplomacy, and give President Obama the true message of Canadians for him on climate change."

Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Buenos Aires, and Geneva.

I love being involved in Avaaz actions because they are diplomatic and non-violent. I mean what better way to make Harper be accountable to Canadians than by taking out an ad in the Washington Post? My voice was heard when trying to get the South African President to intervene during Mugabe's tyranny in Zimbabwe. Avaaz was involved supporting the South African dockworkers when they refused to unload a shipment of armaments bound for Zimbabwe and finally the cargo was returned to China.

Do have a look at the influence that such actions have as they gain media attention around the world to bring about change. Read about past campaigns.

Through Earth Hour and Avaaz the individual can join with like minded people all over the world and sing out in a common voice. In so doing we are no longer seeing ourselves as divided by political borders but united as members of one planet.

Some pictures of this one earth.