On March 27 at 8:30 p.m. local time, 4000 cities in 125 countries voluntarily dimmed the lights demonstrating the ultimate show of global unity in the fight against climate change. Individuals, businesses, and governments came together to support WWF?s fourth year of encouraging an hour of lights-out and sending a powerful message that shined bright to everyone throughout the world.

?The largest ever number of countries, people, and landmarks joined forces for Earth Hour this year. It was a visible demonstration of the enormous level of support there is around the world, for a united effort to tackle climate change,? said David Nussbaum, CEO of WWF-UK.

Hopefully someday the people of the world can translate the efforts of Earth Hour into year round solidarity.

Click here to view our spectacular gallery of Earth Hour 2010 photos.

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photo via flickr

Mountaintop removal was again in the news this week after the EPA announced that it wants to overrule the Army Corps of Engineers and revoke the permit for one of Appalachia’s largest MTR sites. Arch Coal Inc.’s Spruce No. 1 in West Virginia has been at the center of controversy, but the EPA will take away the mine’s permit under the Clean Air Act, a victory for the increasingly strong movement against mountaintop removal….Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Image: Craig Simonox, Dominion Post and TVNZ

Nick Lowe, of Johnsonville, New Zealand, pulls on bike shorts and a t-shirt when he climbs on to pedal away through the city. But as soon as he hits the open road, a “change of clothes” is on the agenda. The t-shirt graces Lowe’s handlebars. The bike shorts he carefully arranges on the saddle so that the chamois seat pad still performs as point of contact. “The majority of the public…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Earth Hour 2010 hits the U.S. tonight at 8:30PM local time! Of course, half the world has already been celebrating from Japan to China, New Zealand to Auckland. Photos are starting to stream in from all over showing landmarks going dim and people have a wonderful time.

This shot, courtesy of the Earth Hour flickr photo stream, shows some awesome Earth Hour lantern balloons being released into the skies above Cape Town. Beautiful, right?

We here at Ecorazzi wish all of you a very Happy Earth Hour! Have fun!

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Liev Schreiber was spotted biking around the SoHo section of New York City Wednesday afternoon. The eco-friendly actor can next be seen in the thriller Repo Men alongside Jude Law and Forest Whitaker.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was on hand earlier this week to promote a new state rebate program offering a $1,500 rebate off the purchase price of qualifying electric motorcycles. The brand that Schwarzenegger chose to promote at the event was CA-based Zero Motorcycles â?? whose models can travel 40-50 miles on a single charge.

Said Governor Schwarzenegger:

â??Zero electric motorcycles are very important technology and this is great for California because this is an ideal place to ride motorcyclesâ?¦ I love the financial side of these motorcycles because they cost less then one cent per mile to operate and you get a 10% federal tax credit plus a California rebate of $1,500. That equates to a 25 percent price reduction making these electric motorcycles affordable for anybody. Itâ??s part of our overall strategy to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by the year 2020.â?�

To see more photos, hit the Zero Motorcycles website.

via autobloggreen

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Jeremy Dean is an artist that set out on a unique mission: Take a massive HUMMER H2 and convert it into a horse-drawn carriage. The goal? To show just how screwed and unsustainable the auto-industry has become.

Dubbed the â??Futuramaâ?�, Dean sees it as a symbol of where weâ??re headed unless things change drastically. From his site,

â??As I see it, this is a time machine from the future, from a world destroyed through over consumption. This is my equivalent of GM?s Futurama and the logical conclusion of that thinking, the new ?Brighter and better world of tomorrow. Come lets journey into the future? What will we see?? In this future world we will have learned little from the mistakes of the past, repeating the cycle of historical amnesia, human nature will once again be the strongest motivating factor.â?�

â??In this apocalyptic world there will be a massive equality gap between the haves and the have-nots. A small few will possess all the wealth and will desire the best of the best. Energy will be scarce and expensive, but of little concern for the elite who travel in lavishly styled horse carts, a throwback to the Depression Chariot, and an earlier time in history; all of humanity is moving backwards.â?�

Check out a video of the â??Futuramaâ?� in action after the jump below:

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I hear this a lot from people, but honestly – Not All Soya Products Damage the Environment

There has been a lot of controversy in the news about the effect soya bean production has on the accelerated deforestation of the Amazon. When soya bean farmers buy up land for cultivation, they force out the cattle ranchers into the rainforest. The ranchers slash and burn, consequently releasing countless tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

soya beans

For those of us who love soya products and care about the state of our planet, this destructive byproduct of soya farming is highly distressing. We need our vegetable soya protein, but we donâ??t want to contribute to the devastation of the planet. What do we do?

Check out Alpro® soya products!

Alpro® goes out of the way to make sure their soya beans do not come from farms that have been reclaimed or deforested. Their beans come from China, Brazil (outside the Amazon), and Canada.

But thatâ??s not all Alpro® is doing to help the planet. Alpro® is involved in a lot of planet-friendly projects from packaging their products in recyclable Tetra Pak®, to financing zero emission research in Antarctica.

Other environmentally-respectful projects include Vitagoat, a soya production facility in Africa that is powered completely by bicycle pedals. Villagers make soya products to eat and sell by pedaling. Wow! Think about that the next time you see a bicycle!

Alpro® is also involved in helping educate people in Parana, Brazil to help them increase their employment potential.

Last, but not least, Alpro® is a key contributor to UFB, the United Fund for Belgium. This organization supports humanitarian projects throughout the country.

At the risk of sounding like a commercial, the next time you shop for soya products, buy Alpro® . At least you know your money is going somewhere where it is making a difference towards sustainability.

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Is Dog Food Really Filled With Euthanized Companion Animals Like Cats and Dogs?

What really is in that can of dog food? You know itâ??s some kind of meat. It looks like meat. Smells kind of almost meaty. But what kind of meat is it?

How about the kibble? What is in a cup of those cute little shaped dry food? Itâ??s mystery meat, otherwise known as â??meat meal.â?�

The next time you buy your dog some food â?? be it dry or canned â?? read the ingredients. Youâ??ll find â??meat mealâ?� in there. What is it?

whats in your dogs food

If you have a weak stomach and tend to get nauseated easily from reading about really gross things, stop reading now. If youâ??re masochistically curious like me, read on. Donâ??t say I didnâ??t warn you though.

Meat meal is a major ingredient in dry dog (and cat) food. It contains (among other things): urine, feces, body parts normally not eaten like hair, intestines, and bones. Should I keep going? Meat meal also has spoiled meat from the supermarket (packaging included), road kill, diseased animalsâ?¦the list goes on and on and on. I canâ??t anymore â?? Iâ??m going to get sick.

Now you and I know that the companies who make pet food are not going to admit that they put dog and cat meat in dog and cat food â?? essentially turning our pets into cannibals. They would never own up to it because that would be bad for business. But the evidence is just too hard for them to hide all the time.

John Eckhouse quoted an employee of the Sacramento Rendering plant (where pet food comes from) â??Thousands and thousands of pounds of dogs and cats are picked up and brought here every day.â?�

When your pet dies at the vet, the vet sends the body to the rendering plant. And yes, they are legally allowed to do this. Disgusting, but true.

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I think this speaks for itself

1) Palin offered a bounty of $150 for each left front leg of freshly killed wolves

2) Palin promotes aerial hunting of wolves even though Alaskans voted twice to ban it (VIDEO)

3) Palin used $400,000 of state money to fund a propaganda campaign in support of aerial hunting

4) Palin believes man-made global warming is a farce

5) Palin strongly supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

6) Palin is a champion for big oil and her slogan has become “Drill, baby, drill!”

7) Palin is suing the federal government to prevent listing the polar bear as an endangered species

Palin sues the federal government over listing Cook Inlet beluga whale as an endangered species